Imponderable Fate
by Sumikai
Summary: Separated from her two friends, Maria was saved by a mysterious exorcist. Who is she, and what does Maria have to do with the Noah? Will she find what she truly desires in this chaotic world? AllenXOCXOC
1. Where Are You?

**First fanfic ever woo~! Hopefully it'll be good. I've had this idea in my head for a while now and since I've read a ton of other fanfics on DGM, I decided to write my own :D**

**Note: Pairings are still undecided, but I'm planning to have AllenXOCXOC ^^**

**Thanks to jokerose for supporting me and editing it while I was writing it! Troll buddies forever~ 3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own -Man, just my OCs**

**And now on with the show~**

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**Chapter 1: Where are you?**

* * *

Rain poured in sheets in the pitch black darkness of the city, the large clock tower overlooking the city striking a steady toll as midnight finally came to the sleeping city. A young girl wandered the alleys, looking for a place to stay for the night that was safe from the rain. She looked to be around eight years old and had long, unkempt pale blond hair that was soaked with water and mud. Her ice blue eyes glowed in the darkness as she looked left and right, looking for some sort of shelter, even if it had to be a box. There was nothing.

She could see her breath as the cold rain finished draining any leftover warmth from her body, despite her feeble attempts to keep warm. Suddenly the girl heard something clang against a large trash bin behind her and she turned around to see a large cat-like thing approach her, its unnatural yellow eyes gleaming in the night.

"Want to play a game~? It's called cat and mouse. I'll be the cat and you can be the mouse! Ready? I'll give you ten seconds to hide~" the mysterious creature called to her as it began counting down.

Not knowing what to do, the girl ran. Through the muddy streets all she did was run away; away from the being that was chasing her; away from danger; away from death until she could run no more. The girl's clothes were dragging her small body down, and the evil thing would soon catch up. Her foot caught on uneven, wet pavement and she fell with a splash into a puddle. She spat out the muddy water that caught into her mouth, but the voice rang again, and the girl's eyes whipped around searching for the owner.

"Ready or not, here I come~" it called out as it began its search for its prey.

She panicked, quickly scrambling and turned into the first alley she saw and suddenly stopped when she saw a dead end. She was trapped.

"Ehehe I can smell you~" it purred. "Just one more prey and I'll level up~"

Upon hearing this, the girl frantically looked left and right for a place to hide her small frame. When she found none, she simply jumped behind a trash can and hid as best as she could. She kept quiet, the tears streaming down her face as she tried to stay hidden, when a thought occurred to her.

_I'm going to die._

"I found you~" the creature purred. The girl's breath froze as her eyes widened in horror and felt the hairs on the back up her neck rise up as the cat-like monster's steps created loud splashes, indicating its proximity to her hiding spot. When the footsteps came to a halt, the girl knew that the monster was already there. She squeezed her eyes shut, openly sobbing now, pressing her small body into the wall next to her trying her best to keep away from death, and as the monster raised its claws for the finishing blow, time slowed down as she waited for death. That slowed moment, she felt herself accepting the fear, almost feeling empowered. But it was too late for that now, the feline was swinging her claws down.

The claws never came.

Right before the cat's claws touched her neck, its own shadow reached up and pulled the creature into the ground as if it were quicksand. Yowling with surprise, the feline tried to scramble out of the darkness, only to sink in further as the shadows wrapped around it, pulling it in until there was nothing left.

The monster was gone.

* * *

Elsewhere in the darkness of the sleeping city, there was another boy in a similar predicament. The boy had messy black hair that that made his heterochromatic eyes stand out even more. His left eye was a calm emerald green while his right eye was a blood red color. His long hair covered his right eye, making it seem as if he only possessed a single eye. He could see his breath fog up in the chilled air as he struggled to flee from the mysterious being that had been chasing him all night long.

As the boy glanced back, he could faintly see its profile although the pounding rain made his already slick hair press against his face, attempting to cover both his eyes and obscure his vision. He quickly moved the hair out of his eyes and glanced back once again. This time he could see it more clearly and quickly took in its menacing appearance. It resembled something akin to a snow monster but was a more warped version of it, with beady red eyes and a sinister smile. It was hunched over as it limped, with wiry hands and feet, making it seem almost zombie-like as well.

Frightened by its horrific appearance, the boy quickly turned to face the front and ran with all his might into the park, where he thought he could hide inside the canopy of the trees. His breath became even foggier, almost certain his lungs were full of cold icy air, as the icelike being neared his hiding place. The trees around him were beginning to die from the sudden exposure to ice.

"Come out come out wherever you are~" it crooned.

He could feel his fingers getting number as it came ever closer. If he didn't do something quickly, he would die of frostbite, he bitterly realized. Grabbing the first thing he saw, he ran at the creature.

"Missed me~" it mocked as it effortlessly dodged his attack and stuck out its tongue. Even its tongue was unpleasant to look at, was there anything decent about this grotesque monster? "Better do better than that if you want to kill me, boy."

Enraged by the creature's taunts, the boy started swinging his branch back and forth but to no avail. The creature cackled loudly before closing in on its prey. When the distance between the two was next to nothing, a bright light flashed in the sky and flew down towards the boy, emitting another light before it dimmed down, revealing an intricate luminescent glowing bracelet on his wrist.

"Wha—what is this?" he gasped, quickly letting go of his branch as the glow from the strange bracelet faded.

The creature uttered a strange hiss and took a step back. "Innocence!?" it screeched.

'What? 'Innocence'...?' the boy raised an eyebrow before the mysterious bracelet emitted another strange glow and he felt something inside him urging him to pick up the stick once again. Obeying his instinct, the boy slowly bent down to pick it up and as he did, a strong gust blew from behind him, somehow with enough force to take the rain away. With a strange sense of strength bubbling from inside him, the boy instinctively held his makeshift weapon in front of him, although it trembled slightly in his hands as he raised it towards the monster. It seemed as if this 'innocence' wanted him to fight the thing, but he was sure that the stick he held would do next to no damage on the creature, but his instincts told him that that would be enough. Suddenly a pair of red eyes appeared in his mind, staring into his soul.

_**"Are you afraid?"**_

The boy froze, contemplating his situation and slowly nodded his head. He was afraid. He was very afraid. Maybe it was better to let him take over, especially if that meant that he wouldn't have to deal with this monster anymore. As the boy remained indecisive, the voice spoke to him once again.

**_"I can help you, if you want."_**

He hesitated slightly before shaking his head, effectively silencing the voice inside his head. He didn't need him. Not here. Not now. The boy tightened his grip on the stick and faced his opponent, who was still wearing that sinister grin from before, but it now looked slightly nervous. Maybe it was due to the sudden appearance of the mysterious bracelet on his right wrist.

He once again held the stick in front of him and felt a sudden urge to pull it back to his right side a bit, as if he were charging a powerful attack. In his mind's eye, he pictured in his hands a slender sword that could cut through anything, even air. The bracelet glowed in response to his imagination and the stick in his hands began to glow as well, emitting the same pale green light from before. When the boy once again opened his eyes, the air around him stilled, and even the rain had paused as if anticipating his next move. Letting out a yell, the boy began running towards the monster and it prepared to attack him as well, getting tired of standing still with an Exorcist right in front of it. Once again following his instincts, he suddenly swung his weapon up towards the sky, and the energy that was charging in it was released in a burst of greenish-white light heading straight towards the monster. Its eyes widened and it threw up a large branch in an attempt to protect itself, but the blast of energy was actually razor sharp air that cut through everything in its path, and cut the being in half. The creature uttered a single shriek before exploding and sending a cloud of dust up into the air.

The boy shielded his eyes from the dust and started coughing loudly. When the dust finally settled he heard someone clapping from behind him. "Bravo my boy," complimented a rather old looking man wearing a large black coat with gold trimmings. His hair was rather messy and he wore large glasses that seemed to give off a vibe of kindness, which was rather strange to the boy because the man seemed rather untidy and had an enormous sketchbook on his back.

Shocked from the newcomer's sudden appearance, the boy picked up his stick again, holding it as a weapon once again. "Who are you?" he demanded. This man who had suddenly chosen to show himself seemed rather suspicious to the boy. If he had been standing there the entire time, why didn't he help him? There was definitely something different about the man though.

**_"Shall I take care of him for you...?"_**

"My name is Froi Tiedoll. I'm part of an organization called the Black Order," the man raised his hands in a simple gesture of surrender. "And who might you be, young lad?"

His grip tightened on his weapon, unsure of his trust, but if it meant getting away from this cold and bitter place then, yes, he trusted this man. For now. The boy gave a small, imperceptible shake of his head. 'No,' he replied to the voice inside his head. 'He's definitely suspicious, but I think we can trust him...for now.'

**_"Very well then."_**

The man waited expectantly for a reply. Inwardly sighing, the boy lowered his stick and introduced himself, continuing the act of a scared and confused boy, "Joseph… Rainwater..." His voice trembled slightly as he added the finishing touches to his act and he mentally patted himself on the back.

"Nice to meet you Joseph-kun." Tiedoll smiled warmly. Joseph could feel himself cringe slightly at the flowers that seemed to come from out of nowhere when that man smiled. He looked down at his feet, hiding the bitter look in his eyes. How long had it been since someone had called him 'Joseph'? He actually preferred the nickname Seph, but that tidbit was held off for another time. Many questions rang in him at one time, 'Why is this man here?' 'What is the Black Order?' 'What exactly was that monster from before?' 'What is 'innocence'?'

Tiedoll spoke before Seph could voice his thoughts, "I'm sure you have many questions for me, Joseph-kun." He turned around before Seph could open his mouth. "Do not fret. All your questions will be answered place is not safe," Tiedoll looked at him from the corner of his eye and Seph could faintly tell that he was smiling once again. Seph scowled. Did this man always smile?

Eliminating his face of his earlier emotions, Seph once again assumed the character of a confused boy and followed the man out of the park.

* * *

In the darkness of an alley, a pair of ruby red eyes glowed in the now clear sky. They flickered left and right, scanning across the moonlit street. A cloud slowly moved in the sky and the moon's pale light illuminated the darkness of the alley, revealing a small boy around 11 years old. His long blond hair could not completely cover his striking red eyes that glinted like rubies in the moonlight.

He was crouching down behind a dumpster, acutely listening to the sounds of the city. Far off, he heard a monster's roar and a cat's pained yowl. He debated on going towards either the roar or the yowl, but he suddenly heard something step in a puddle with a loud splash as well as the jingle of bells. Something was coming.

The boy slowly edged out from the side of the dumpster he had been hiding behind and took a quick peek of the mysterious being that had approached his alley. In the pale light of the moon, he could make out a humanlike thing dressed like a jester complete with bells. Although he could not see its face, the hairs on the back of his neck rose when he saw the jester's malevolent smile and felt its sinister aura. He barely suppressed a shiver as the moon's light fell upon the joker's face, revealing unnatural yellow eyes that focused in on him as the moonlight revealed his own hiding place as well.

"...Hehehe." The jester gave a sinister grin and let out a maniacal laugh that chilled the boy down to his bones. This man was dangerous. "You can't hide from me forever~"

The boy panicked when he heard the jester talking to him. He desperately looked for something to defend himself with; anything was better than nothing. At last his eyes fell upon a broken pipe and he slowly picked it up and stood up. He walked out and held it towards the jester like he would with a sword.

"Well, well, well, would you look at that?" it giggled at the boy's challenge. "Not hiding anymore I see."

He could feel his pipe trembling slightly and placed his other hand on the pipe, directly above his right hand, effectively steading it. Once his pipe was steadied, he sent a glare toward the jester, who remained calm with the same sinister grin pasted onto its face. It was greatly intimidating, but for some reason, he felt strong, strong enough to defeat this monster. Although he didn't know where this strength came from, he followed his instincts and charged.

"Did you seriously believe that you could kill me with this piece of metal?" it laughed as it knocked the away glowing pipe from his hands. He paused. Glowing?

The boy glanced over at the pipe in surprise, as did the jester. Where his two small hands had been were ten distinct lines that could only be achieved by holding one's hand on the pipe, yet his weapon had been so deformed that it also seemed to have been melted slightly before quickly cooling down in the puddle of water.

The jester's shock soon wore off and he sent a backhanded swipe that sent the boy flying towards the wall. The boy landed in a puddle and sat there stunned. Facing a foe much stronger and much more dangerous than the others, a discomforting thought erupted in him for a split second.

He was going to die.

He had absolutely no chance to win against this foe. The only way he would be able to live was if a miracle happened and the jester somehow ended up killing itself. No, but wait. Whatever happened to that strength earlier, that feeling of being able to take down anything? Maybe he was too much in the moment that time. He closed his eyes, and decidedly accepted his fate.

He sat there awaiting his death, extremely calm for a mere eleven year old boy who was about to die.. As the jester stepped closer to finish off its prey, it suddenly screamed in pain, exploding into nothingness as a strange man stepped out from behind it.

"Get up boy unless you wish to die in this hellhole," the man grunted holding his saw-like weapon.

'...What?' the boy slowly opened his eyes to see a large, masked man dressed in a long black coat with trimmings of gold. His mask made him seem like a convict, but the man had saved him, so the boy figured that he couldn't have been as bad as he thought he was.

"Um… Thank you sir," the blond boy stammered with his eyes wide open in shock as he scrambled to his feet. He began dusting himself off but remembered that it had just been raining and there was no dust to be found on his body. He looked at the man's hands that were holding his weapon and noticed something peculiar in his other hand. There was a strange sphere surrounded by what seemed to be clock gears that were arranged to make an X. The sphere emitted an otherworldly green glow before it flew from the man's hand and went for the boy's wrist. Upon making contact the light dimmed to reveal a slightly luminescent bracelet around his wrist.

The boy jumped back and tried to wiggle the strange bracelet off of his wrist. "It...won't come off!" he exclaimed as he continued trying to tug it off his wrist. He glanced back up at the dangerous looking man and quickly tried to apologize to him, "I-I'm sorry! It just...won't come off!"

"Boy," the man began suddenly, ignoring the boy's dilemma. "What's your name?"

"My name is…Evan. Evan Wilder," Evan's nervous red eyes blazed in the night. "C-Could I..." Could I have your name? he had meant to say.

"Winters Sokaro."

Winters Sokaro. This name was so befitting of the man. Cold.

"D-do you know what those things were?" Evan avoided direct eye contact with the man, afraid he might use that ghastly weapon Sokaro held on him.

"Just shut up and follow me if you wish to live, boy," Sokaro interrupted as he started walking.

Stunned by his harsh words, Evan only nodded as he began to follow the mysterious man. Looking up to the night sky, a single promise lay in his mind, with a single question accompanying it.

_Where are you?_

* * *

Above the girl's alleyway, a young woman with long white hair and violet eyes watched as the girl in the dark alley finally opened her eyes to see the creature gone. The girl glanced around in confusion, wondering where the creature had gone.

Swiftly jumping down to land right behind the young girl, the woman spoke, "Are you alright?"

The frightened young girl jumped at the sudden voice behind her. She didn't know how to answer this woman, so startled at her sudden appearance she could only nod. Or at least do something that seemed like a nod. Her ice-blue eyes landing on the woman's violet eyes. Such deep intelligent and kind eyes she had, along with long and pure white hair, the color of purity and perfection..

"If I may ask, what's your name?" the woman asked as she helped the girl up.

"Maria…Tsukiyomi ma'am," the girl replied shyly, still in awe of the woman's beauty, "Who are you?"

Giggling, the woman replied, "No need for such formalities Maria. My name is Ebony Florence. Have you ever heard of Akuma, Innocence and the Black Order?"

"'Akuma? You mean demons?" Maria tilted her head.

"No," Ebony explained. "Since we're not exactly safe here, I'll give you the short explanation. Akuma are weapons created by the Millenium Earl that hunt and kill innocent people. That's why there are some special people chosen by God to be His Apostles that exist in order to protect other people using what we call Innocence. You have one too," She stated proudly.

"Innocence… So is that what got rid of the Akuma just now? My Innocence?" Maria asked curious.

"Correct you are! You were chosen by God and have been given a special Innocence inside your body, which enabled you to destroy the Akuma, freeing its soul," Ebony answered.

"So does that mean that I can be an Exorcist too?" I'll be able to protect my family.

Ebony held out her hand, "Would you like to...?"

Maria's heart pounded, staring at the hand. Should she trust this woman, there would be nothing to fear anymore…

"Would you like to become my disciple?" A smile crept onto Ebony's face; it was so inviting and so kind. Maria hesitantly reached out, but took grasp of the hand. Her confidence began to well up within her, and she felt stronger.

Maria smiled, "Yes!"**  
**

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**Woo first chapter is finally done x.x** **Hopefully I portrayed the generals right. And the action scenes. Was a bit nervous about those XD**

**Please leave a review! I want to know what people think of this and I'll try to improve my writing skills as the story goes on ^^**

***Edit* Holy crap. After rereading this chapter, I realized just how horrible it actually was x_x Well now that it's been rewritten and edited, it's now much better compared to the original! XD I hope you like this new plot~**


	2. Apology

**Chapter 2 is out~ It's summer and I have a little too much free time, so updates should come pretty quickly as long as **

**Thank you to jokerose and Emikame for the support and editing this chapter! :3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man, just the OCs.**

**And now on with the show~**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Apology**

* * *

"Oi Maria, stop running too far ahead of us!" Seph called to the pale blond haired girl, sighing and briskly running a hand through his hair irritably, he and Evan calmly walked after her. "You'll trip again and I'm not helping you up this time!"

"But I wanna show Teacher my new exorcist uniform!" A 14 year-old Maria pouted, not wanting to wait any longer. "It's not my fault if you're slow!" She turned around and stuck out her tongue playfully, knowing that Seph couldn't stay mad at her for long.

"You know she does have a point there Seph," laughed Evan as he ruffled the younger boy's hair. "It's not our fault if you can't keep up with us!" With that said he ran ahead to join Maria; he didn't stop to notice the brief glare that Seph shot at him.

Seph sighed, and looked at the overcast sky. It had been six years since the three of them had last seen each other, and their friendship seemed to have continued right where it left off on that night 6 years ago. Come to think of it, it was raining that night as well.

Seph stopped walking for a moment, his eyes still on the now falling rain, and took it all in. He shut his eyes and felt the cold drops hit his face and fall down his cheeks. He had always believed that rain was never just water; whenever something happened, the sky would pour as some life changing event occurred. Like the day he met Tiedoll. What's going to happen…?

_**"Wouldn't you like to know."**_

Seph grew irritated when he heard the voice inside his head once again. Glancing around, he saw that both Maria and Evan were not that far ahead, halfway to the large mansion that the three were making their way towards. Waiting until they were out of earshot, Seph glared down at the ground and muttered to the voice in his head, "Shut up."

* * *

Footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the empty mansion as the raindrops splattered against the windows. From inside her office, Florence could hear water dripping along the wooden floors, along with a distinct creak of the floorboards. She continued to absentmindedly stare outside the window, but her guard went up as the footsteps slowly approached the open door to her office.

"What is your business here, Mikk? I thought you hated exorcists," Florence asked calmly, continuing to stare out the window. When she heard him approaching her desk, she finally turned around and sent him a fierce glare. The intruder had a grey skin tone, and dark, wavy hair. There was a mole on his upper left cheek and he held an unlit cigarette. His clothes and hair were both slick and wet from the rain, giving him the appearance of a rather handsome man. She crossed her arms over her chest, expectantly waiting for an answer.

"That's right, and I still do," Tyki nonchalantly replied, looking around the office, pulling some random book off of a shelf to examine it, "I heard you took in a pupil six years ago. How is she?"

"She's doing fine," Florence snapped, recognizing the book instantly, it'd been one Maria had given to her not more than a year ago, "You didn't answer my question. What is your business here?"

"Nothing! I simply wanted to check on our newest addition to the Noah family," he replied innocently, looking at the dark clouds outside, and set the book down on the window sill.

"She will not turn into a Noah, Mikk. You can tell that to the Earl," Florence retorted, her eyes pinned on the book now out of place, and defiled by his touch.

"My, my, someone's being quite dark," Tyki chuckled, debating if he should be pleased for getting on her nerves or for mentioning her pupil. "But you see, the Count doesn't like me returning empty-handed from one of his tasks. Wouldn't you agree Ebony Florence, or should I say 'Pure-White Witch'?"

"You…" Florence spat out darkly. "So the Earl wants me dead now does he?" She tried to move her arms to grab the gun which sat in its holster on her thigh, but found that her hands wouldn't respond no matter how hard she tried. Her eyes widened. What!?

"Yes he does Miss White Witch~" Sheril Kamelot, the source of her immobility, spoke as he casually leaned against the open door frame. Florence gritted her teeth; this wasn't good.

"You see, Millenies has been looking for the two of you for a long, long time now~" Suddenly Road appeared through a heart shaped door, smirking as she crossed her arms. "You've been a bad girl, so we'll just have to stain that pure white with a beautiful crimson now~"

"Why you little-" She didn't even get the chance to finish her curse when Tyki suddenly reached in and pulled out her heart, staining her white clothes a bright scarlet. She wasn't sure what she felt first, pain or shock. But as she felt herself falling to the ground, the last thing she saw was a certain pale haired apprentice. As their eyes met, confusion meeting pain, one last message was conveyed in those dulling violet orbs.

_I'm sorry._

Outside, the rain poured harder than ever.

* * *

**Nuuuuu Ebony T_T Go ahead and hate me for killing off a character in the 2nd chapter already. I deserve it *cries***

**This chapter could have been longer, but I didn't want to overshadow Ebony's death :( I promise next chapter will be longer :D**

**Please review~! I still want to improve my writing so that I can give you a better story :)**

***Edit* I hope you liked it. If not...*sharpens knife* o_o... Kidding! My friend and I were having so much fun editing this chapter at the same time XD And as for the voice in Seph's head, you'll find out sooner or later ;P**


	3. Memento from the Past

**I must have way too much free time or something :o Welp. Chapter 3 is out, and like I promised, I made it longer ^^**

**Thanks again for jokerose and Emikame for supporting and helping me up till now~ **

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man**

**And now on with the show~**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Memento from the Past**

* * *

Maria's eyes were wide open as she stood there shocked as she watched her teacher's body hit the ground motionless. It felt as though the light had gone out and she was alone in the dark again. Stunned, she fell to the floor, staring at those beautiful violet eyes that were once so full of life, now dull and listless. She began to gag as the smell of blood reached her nose and her face was contorted in horror.

"Tyki, lets go!" Road called as she and Sheril entered her door. "We've stayed here long enough as it is."

Tyki only stood there clutching Florence's still heart in his hand, staring at Maria, whose sudden appearance was unexpected to both parties. _Uh oh… She wasn't supposed to know about this._

Behind her, Seph and Evan simply stood there frozen, shocked by the scene before them.

"You…" Maria's shadow started to grow around her; she was losing control of her Innocence. "You killed…my teacher!"

Suddenly Tyki was assaulted by a barrage of piercing shadows emerging from the ground. Some he managed to dodge but wasn't as lucky for others as some spikes managed to hit their target. "Shit!" He cussed as another one grazed his side. _I need to get out of here. _Holding onto his side, he quickly dodged the oncoming spikes and made it to Road's door. Glancing back at the room, the last thing he saw was Maria falling over in Florence's pool of blood.

* * *

_Darkness._

_Her eyes slowly opened, revealing two ice-blue orbs, staring at the unbroken darkness._

_Nothingness._

_That's all she ever was. Her biological parents didn't even care enough about her to give her a name. Just another existence on the world; a grain of sand on a beach, waiting to be washed away by the ocean._

_Light._

_Her light was gone; obscured by more darkness until it was no more. She would never be able to see that woman's smile ever again._

_Alone._

_"Because…that's all we'll ever be in the end… Right…Neah…?"_

* * *

"…Ne…ah?" Bright ice-blue eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the dimness of this new environment. She slowly looked around her and found that she was inside the Order's ward. Around her the nurses were working hard at taking care of injured exorcists. She heard the sound of soft breathing and looked to her left and right to find both Evan and Seph fast asleep. Evan had fallen asleep on a chair and had his arms crossed as his head drooped while Seph had fallen asleep sitting by the bed using his arms as a makeshift pillow, his head facing her. She quietly admired his sleeping face. His face radiated a pure childlike innocence that was absent while he was awake. Maria smiled fondly and stroked his hair, her hand softly caressing his black hair that was now much shorter and cleaner than it had been since she last saw him six years ago.

Seph awoke when he felt her hand gently moving through his hair. He slowly opened his eyes and saw her smiling gently at him before her eyes widened and she quickly moved her hand away from his head but he caught it before it could return to her side. "Hey," he murmured quietly, careful as to not wake up Evan who was still fast asleep on the chair by the wall.

"Hey," she whispered back, smiling softly at him.

"You're awake," he observed and sent her a small smile which hinted the extent of his worry.

"Of course I am," she replied, chuckling a little. Glancing around her, she asked, "How long have I been out?"

"Since this morning," Evan spoke up from his chair as he rubbed his neck and began stretching his arms. "It's almost night time now."

"This morning…?" Her eyes slowly widened as the day's events came crashing down on her. She gasped, "That means… Teacher is-!" She quickly tried to get out of the bed, but Seph held her down firmly.

"Rest. You've had a long day and I don't want you to get sick," he said calmly and then paused. "But we need to show you something first."

Evan, who had left the room unnoticed earlier, came back with a small black kitten and a white golem with a cross on its 'face' and white wings that resembled those of an angel. Maria quickly recognized the golem; it was her late mentor's golem, Snow. Answering Maria's questioning gaze, he simply said, "She wanted you to have these."

Maria took the golem in her hands and it began to play a video of her teacher.

"Congratulations on becoming a full fledged exorcist!" Ebony Florence giggled and pulled the string on a small party popper as she celebrated her student's successful . "Sorry to see you off like this, but I hate saying goodbyes. I'm sure that I'll be seeing you around during your journey though, so this probably won't be the last time I see you. Who knows, we may even be assigned missions together!" She paused for a few seconds. "I'm leaving Snow and Dinah in your care. Take care of them for me, will ya kiddo?"

Maria smiled fondly at her teacher's words. This was just like Ebony; she was always so spontaneous and upbeat, never feeling down; the woman had been the light of her life back in the dark days of the past. Her eyes began to sparkle, the tears already starting to form.

_But now she's gone._

"Oh and by the way, whatever happens," Florence added. "Stay strong. Someone told me this once, and I think that you should take his words to heart," she paused once more before continuing, but this time her eyes seemed to stare into space as she was reliving a distant memory. "'Don't stop, keep walking.' One day you'll get there kiddo." Smiling kindly at the screen, Florence's eyes radiated genuine happiness as she finished speaking, thus ending the recording.

Maria's eyes brimmed with tears as the message ended. She began to hiccup as the tears overflowed and dripped onto Dinah and Snow. "Teacher," She cried out, hugging her knees as both Cheshire and Snow began to comfort her the only way they could. She cried, remembering the unforgettable day teacher and student met. She cried, for the adventures she dreamed of having with her mentor disappeared without a trace, never to come true. She cried, for her lonely heart couldn't handle the loss of another person dear to her. And as she cried, Seph and Evan could only watch as the girl they knew so well was swallowed up in grief while Florence's last two gifts shared their warmth with the poor girl.

Pain flashed through their faces; they couldn't do anything to help her. _"I'm powerless," _Evan thought bitterly. _"I swore that I would protect her, but I can't even stop her tears?" _He looked to Seph to help him solve his turmoil, to answer the question in both of their hearts. _"What am I supposed to do?"_

Seph's calm eyes only said one thing, and that one sentence was enough to spur the both of them into action.

"_She needs us."_

As warm arms wrapped around Maria's shoulders, she could only cry harder at the small gesture of warmth. She had lived so long without this love, this kindness. She endured the hardships of the world without ever having felt the warmth of another person, save her mentor whose kindness she would never forget. Her teacher's final words flashed through her mind.

"_Don't stop, keep walking."_

Holding these words close to her heart, she tried to pull herself together, to rebuild the walls that were torn down in a moment. Her efforts were futile though; she could only cry harder as the two boys hugged her.

She felt something that time. Something that she had never felt before, even when Florence had found her and taught her the skills she now knew. She felt…safe. Safe in the arms of her childhood friends, both of whom had been with her since the very beginning until they got separated. Both of whom understood her so well. She couldn't thank them enough for what they did for her; they were always there when she needed them most.

"…Thank you…" She murmured; her tears having finally run dry as she drifted off to sleep wrapped in their arms.

* * *

As Seph and Evan gently placed her back on her bed, Maria's last words rang in Seph's heart.

"_Thank you."_

He felt warmth spread throughout himself when she said those two simple words. His spirits lifted when he remembered holding her in his arms. She was just so small, so fragile that it made him want to protect her from the world's cruel reality. When he saw her crying there, he didn't know what to do at all. Should he leave her alone so she could cry in peace? Or should he stay by her side as she cried her heart out?

The place where he had held her now felt cold without her warmth there to fill in the gap. Smiling fondly, he made his way back towards his room. _"When was the last time I saw her crying?" _He wondered. Laying down in his bed, Seph placed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

. . . . .

_Seph hit the ground, holding his throbbing cheek. Standing before him was the man that had caused his pain: Lucifer Rainwater. He didn't know why he stuck with the man; his mother was already long gone; she would never have to worry about the demon ever again. Unless the man Seph regrettably called his father found a way to bring her back to life, they had nothing to fear._

_"You're filthy." The demon spat as he shoved the child away. "Get away from me or else you'll spread your filth in the air I breathe." With that, the man walked away from his son._

_"Wait father!" His elder sister, Luna, protested as she tried to run after him. Lucifer simply slapped her outstretched hand and walked away, slamming the door to his study shut. Luna's eyes were wide open as she held her hand, slowly letting both hands fall to her sides. "Ah..."_

_"Sis..." Seph tentatively reached out a hand to place on her shoulder. "I-"_

_"No Joseph," she turned to him, smiling sadly. "_I'm_ sorry. I promised Mom that I'd protect both you and Alice but I...he... I let him hurt you. I'm sorry," she apologized once again. At that moment, a small dark haired girl with soft blue eyes poked her head from behind the door. She wore a light pink dress and held a small black bunny that wore a red and white jacket and had an enormous white bow tied around its neck._

_"Ah...!" she let out a small squeak. "Onee-chan! Nii-chan! I finally found you!"_

_"Alice," Luna smiled as she was embraced by the small, five year old girl. "Have you been spending time with the Tsukiyomi's?"_

_"Uh huh!" Alice giggled. "Ryou-nii-san and his sister taught me some Japanese words today! Want to hear what I learned?" she asked excitedly, her innocent face radiating happiness._

_"Sure!" Luna smiled kindly and sat down._

_Alice took this as her cue and promptly began telling her what she had learned earlier at the 'Tsukiyomi' house._

_Seph feigned interest but soon zoned out as he remembered what had happened just before his younger sister had entered the room. He held a hand up to his cheek, delicately tracing the hand print that that man had left. Even though Seph was used to his father's words, every time he said them would cause a new round of hurt on the boy's heart. Hiding the tears that were threatening to fall in his eyes, Seph ran out of the house, oblivious to Luna's and Alice's shouts of surprise._

_Seph ran towards the park, which was the only place he could truly let go and pull down his barriers, even if it was only temporary. He sat down and held his knees towards his chest, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. As he stared at the happy families spending time in the park, he couldn't help but imagine that he was a carefree child playing with both his sisters in the park. How he wished he could be as joyful as they were. Behind him a girl spoke, "Are you alright?"_

_Shocked by her sudden appearance, Seph jumped up, trying to wipe his tears. The girl was very pretty, with pale blond hair that was almost white and piercing ice-blue eyes that seemed as if they could see through him. She looked to be about his age and wore a simple white dress and wore a sky blue bow in her hair that complemented her eyes._

_"Are you alright?" She repeated, staring at him with those beautiful eyes._

_"Huh? Y-yeah I think so," He quickly stammered, a blush starting to form on his cheeks._

_She continued staring at him with her piercing gaze. "You don't look like it." She touched his red cheek and he flinched. It still felt raw, and he could already feel a bruise starting to form on the mark._

_"Did I hurt you? Sorry!" She quickly apologized, taking her cool hands away from his cheek. He missed them already._

_"N-no! It's alright," He smiled, taking a liking to the honest and innocent girl. "My name's Joseph. What's yours?"_

_She smiled brightly before replying, "Mm I'm Maria! Do you want to be friends, Seph? We can go explore and play and meet new friends and...and...um!" She continued to talk animatedly even though she had run out of ideas. "And play some more!" she finished with a bright smile._

_Seph's eyes were wide open and he faintly noticed that his jaw hung wide open as the girl before him finally finished talking. How could she even talk that much, or rather, how could she talk that _fast_?_

_"Well?" Maria waited expectantly for a reply as she placed her arms behind her back._

_'Seph?' He thought. 'What a weird nickname… Better than Joe I guess.' "Oh! Um s-sure Maria," He stuttered, his cheeks getting even redder._

_"Then lets go play!" Maria enthusiastically grabbed his hand, and dragged him off to explore the town, where adventure lay in the most surprising places._

* * *

Seph awoke to a soft knock at his door. "Seph?" a voice called quietly. "You awake?" It was Evan.

Stifling a yawn, Seph stretched his arms and put on his eyepatch, a gift that his mentor Tiedoll had given him over the years. Putting on his boots, Seph walked out of his room wearing only a fitted black tank top and sweatpants. "Why are you still up?" he yawned.

"Komui wants to see us," Evan said as he turned to walk towards the office. "He says that it has to do with Ebony Florence's will."

"Will?" Seph voiced his thoughts as he nonchalantly placed his arms behind his head. "I thought that she was killed this morning. How can-"

"That's what I'm wondering too," Evan interrupted.

Seph sighed tiredly, "I guess we'll just find out when we get there." Evan simply nodded his reply and they walked in silence. "By the way..." Seph began casually. "Who's Komui?"

* * *

"Ahem," a man wearing a lab coat and a white beret cleared his throat before beginning. He pushed up his glasses slightly so that they reflected the light in the room, making him look more intelligent. "We all know what happened to General Ebony Florence this morning," he began. "And right now, Maria is still mourning for the loss of her mentor so she is excused from this-"

"Just...cut to the chase, will ya Komui?" a 16 year-old boy with golden blond hair and bright green eyes yawned tiredly.

"Let him finish Kevin," a girl around the same age with chocolate brown hair and soft brown eyes chided. She smiled at the man and gestured for him to continue.

"Thank you, Aya." Komui smiled tiredly. "As I was saying, after inspecting the crime scene, we came across a will that General Florence seems to have written a will prior to her death. I'd read it to you but Kevin here seemed to be quite ready to get back to bed," he chuckled. Seph crossed his arms impatiently and casually leaned against the doorway. "As you all know, General Florence formed a team consisting of the top Exorcists that she has added to in the past few years. Right now, the Elites have 10 members. Two of whom are present and the other 8 are currently out on missions. General Florence has personally recommended Evan Wilder, Joseph Rainwater, and Maria Tsukiyomi to be a part of the Elites as the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth members. Effective immediately."

Seph's eyes widened at the sudden news the man named Komui had announced. It was only their second day at the Order and already they were getting promoted? Wasn't this progressing a bit too fast?

"But wait," Evan interrupted. "There must be a mistake. I've never even met the General! How can she personally recommend me to the team if we've never even seen each other?!" Three curious expressions stared quietly at Komui as he skimmed over the will once again.

"Hmm," Komui murmured. "The date on here says that this was written...the 20th of October." His eyes widened as he looked up to the group, a hoarse whisper bubbling up his throat.

"The day before she died."

* * *

**This chapter is sadder than the rest. Sad but sweet at the same time :'( **

**I actually listened to Nobuo Uematsu's song Theme of Love the entire time while writing this chapter. Such a beautiful song, and it describes the mood of the chapter perfectly. Sad but sweet. :'(**

**Please review! :3**

***Edit* Fun fact: No that wasn't the date when I rewrote the chapter. Take it back one month and then you have the date I finished the chapter :D... **


	4. And So It Begins

**Chapter 4 is out~ And its my longest chapter so far too! \o/ I hope I've satisfied you with the length so far. The story gets more interesting from now on :D**

**Thank you to MusicianWish for the favorite and jokerose for editing this chapter! I love you two :3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man**

**And now on with the show~**

**Edit: I realized I messed up Snow's name. Derp. It was actually supposed to be Phoenix before I changed it to Snow. My bad XD**

* * *

**Chapter 4: And So It Begins**

* * *

_Flames roared in the town they once called home. Adults, children, the elderly; none were spared from the wrath of the monsters. 'Akuma', he faintly recalled. That's what they were called. After all, he called them that._

_Running towards the house that he knew she'd be in, he rounded the corner as he saw it erupt in flames. Evan briefly hesitated at the sight; his instincts were screaming at him to run away from the danger, but his rational mind knew that he was inside, and he was protecting Maria. Throwing all caution aside, Evan ran into the burning building, where he was met with the aftermath of a murder._

_Enormous bullet holes lined the walls, showing that whoever had shot continued to miss his mark. Tables and furniture were overturned and picture frames had been knocked off the wall. Evan scanned the vicinity for any movement, any survivors. Spotting a caved in wall, he ran towards it, unearthing a dying Ryou Tsukiyomi. He hadn't been shot but there were shards of glass and wood sticking out of his body in various gruesome directions. He wouldn't last any longer. Evan looked away, afraid to see any more of the damage that had been done to the older boy that was like an older brother to him. "Ryou..." he hoarsely whispered, beginning to gag slightly due to the overwhelming stench of blood in the air._

_A hand weakly grabbed his arm as he was about to get up. "…Evan…" Ryou rasped, blood coming out of his mouth. "Swear…to me…that you'll…take care of…Maria…"_

_Tears brimming in his eyes, Evan looked at the dying boy in the eyes. "I swear…" He grasped Ryou's hand and held onto it in a firm grip, signaling his promise._

_"…Thank…you…" Ryou Tsukiyomi closed his eyes for the final time as his barely audible breathing came to a stop._

* * *

Evan woke up with tears streaming down his face, crying for the boy in his dream. Why did I remember that today out of all days? He wondered as he got up to get ready for the day.

Looking at the calendar, Evan sighed. Today was Ebony Florence's death anniversary. It had been 2 years since her death, and he wondered how Maria was doing. Ever since then, she had closed herself up from the world, only lowering her barriers to both he and Seph. Evan knew the girl better than she knew herself sometimes. On the inside she was still the same lost and lonely girl from two years ago, and she needed him now to be the brother she lost on that fateful day nine years ago. The day Ryou Tsukiyomi died.

Ever since the day she broke down, Evan felt frustrated. How could he protect her from her own emotions? There was nothing, nothing he could do to help her. He had been training all his life in order to fulfill his promise to Ryou, but every time he thought about Maria, his feelings of frustration came back to him.

Ruffling his hair, he stared at his reflection. Ruby-red eyes stared back at him as he looked into the depth of his eyes. Maria had always told him that his eyes were beautiful and mesmerized the people who looked at them, but he could see nothing but fear in them. He was still the same boy that held the bloody hand back in their hometown. The boy with no memories of his past save for a bloody blade stabbed into his stomach. Even now, after at least 9 years, Evan could still feel the scar that that man had given to him in honor of his 'courage.' He laughed bitterly to himself while thinking of the name that man had given to him before he had passed out. 'Lupin Xenohart'. He clenched his hands as his mind filled with thoughts of revenge. That man gave him this scar; he would know of his past. Evan was sure of that.

Sighing once more, Evan left the room. It was time to get going.

* * *

"Maria," Seph gently shook the girl awake. "We're here."

Yawning, Maria stretched before she got off the carriage. And thanked the man who had helped them. The kind farmer that had offered the two a ride waved them goodbye as he turned the carriage towards a city further on.

Looking towards the sky, the girl remembered what had occurred a few days earlier.

. . . . .

_"Komui? What is it?" The girl asked through Snow. She and Seph had just completed a mission in Germany and had relaxed in a cafe before receiving a call from headquarters._

_"Maria? Where are you?" Komui asked through the phone._

_"We're in Germany. What's the matter?" Maria knew something was going on. Komui never called her during a mission - or after - unless there was an urgent task she had to do._

_"Perfect. You heard about the Rewinding Town in Germany haven't you? Could you meet me at the hospital there? It's about your next mission." The man was all business right now, but she could practically see him piled underneath all those papers that were waiting to be signed._

_"Alright," she replied before terminating the connection. Germany huh..._

. . . . .

Smirking a little from the memory, she hurried towards the hospital only to see that two exorcists were having trouble dealing with some low level Akuma. Thats kind of…sad. She sighed before signaling Seph to head to the hospital before her.

She would have to take care of these pesky Akuma that the boys were struggling to defeat.

* * *

Allen and Lavi were surrounded by the hordes of Akuma. Completely exhausted, they stood back to back, ready to face the oncoming Akuma till the very end.

"…You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you...?" Suddenly shapes rose from the shadows underneath the Akuma, forming into a pack of jet black dogs with yellow eyes. They let out ferocious growls and faced the Akuma, ready to tear them apart. The dogs and Akuma stared at each other until every being in the vicinity heard a voice.

_"Go."_

Acting on the order, the dogs ripped through the Akuma as if they were made of butter. The beings screamed in pain, but Lavi's calculating mind was reeling as the animals easily defeated them. Akuma couldn't be destroyed by anything other than Innocence. Then that would mean that…

These dogs…are they made of…Innocence? Both boys stared shocked at the sight of the dark beings that seemed to melt into the shadows before their very eyes. Lavi's eyes shifted around, scanning for more Akuma that seemed to appear from every direction in the junkyard they were in. When he spotted nothing, both exorcists collapsed on the ground, gasping in relief.

All too soon, Lavi felt something rumble underground. Emerging from behind Allen was a small pistol connected to an Akuma. Eyes wide open, Lavi could only watch as the Akuma prepared to shoot. "Allen! Watch out!"

"Innocence…activate!"

A shadow appeared behind Allen at that moment. Pulling out her scythe, Maria attacked the Akuma that was about to kill Allen, saving his life. The underground Akuma exploded then, blowing Allen and Lavi away from the source of the toxic gas. When the gas cleared, from it emerged a girl.

The girl looked to be slightly older than him, around 16 years old. She wasn't very tall either, maybe a few inches shorter than he was. She had pale blonde medium length hair and stunning ice-blue eyes that seemed to see through him. He then noticed her clothes. She was wearing a slightly tattered exorcist uniform that consisted of a black mini jacket, a plain white V-neck and a slightly frilly black skirt. She wore black, fingerless gloves and black combat boots. Around her neck was a silver chain from which hung a silver cross underneath it. Perched on her shoulder was a golem similar to Timcanpy, except white like snow.

Allen didn't know why, but he was mesmerized by those eyes of hers. They seemed to bring forth an emotion he didn't know he had from deep within him. His heart wrenched as he saw her walk towards them. He clutched his chest. Just what is this strange feeling...?

"Ne-Are you alright?" The girl asked them, observing them calmly as she offered her hand to Allen.

Lavi was the first to speak up. "S-STRIKE!" He shouted, hearts forming in his eyes as he stood up, running towards her like a rabbit in heat and taking her outstretched hand.

Allen sighed. Kanda was right. Lavi was an idiot rabbit in so many ways. Although when Lavi took her hand, Allen felt a pang of jealousy well up from within him. He had never met her before, but he was already starting to feel something for this stranger that had saved his life? Shaking his head, he got up and brushed the dirt off of his uniform.

"Um… Thank you for saving us. My name is Allen Walker, and my friend here is Lavi."

She took in their appearances before curtly replying, "Maria Tsukiyomi, and I wouldn't have saved you if I hadn't seen how pitiful the both of you were when you struggled to take care of a few level one and two Akuma." With that said she promptly turned away towards the hospital, leaving both boys behind to stare at her in shock.

"Psst! Allen!" Lavi whispered to the white haired boy.

"Yeah Lavi?" Allen nervously whispered back, sweat drops starting to appear.

"Isn't she like a female version of Yu? What if she has some sort of super secret move that she'll only use if she gets mad?" Lavi shuddered as he said that, imagining what would happen if he teased her too much. Teasing Yu was fun enough, but at least Yu had a katana that was fun to dodge. If Maria's secret power had something to do with shadows, that wasn't going to be fun at all; in fact, it was probably going to be very painful. Lavi wasn't going to risk teasing her until he got to know her better, or to be more specific, her pet peeves.

Allen's blood chilled at the thought. Having one of those shadow dogs bite through him as if he was butter was a scary thought, but that was a walk in the park compared to Cross's debts. Instead of replying, Allen turned as white as his hair. That demon of a master…

Staring at his friend that now lay weeping, Lavi wondered what kind of life Allen led while apprenticing underneath Cross Marian. He shivered at the thought.

* * *

Maria slowly walked towards the hospital. Why did that boy Allen Walker seem so familiar to her? Had she seen him when she was traveling with Ebony? Shaking her head, Maria scoffed at the thought. She would have remembered his white hair. It stood out that much.

When she saw him on the ground, her eyes had widened in shock. Maria knew she met this kid somewhere before; he just seemed that familiar to her. Unconsciously, she had almost said "Neah" before she realized she had opened her mouth to talk. Panicking, she asked them if they were ok, hoping that her blunder wasn't realized. She quietly stared at the darkening sky.

_Neah... Just who are you…?_

* * *

Inside the carriage, it was quite cramped, especially with the boys taking up so much room. Allen and Lavi were sitting in seiza because of the damage they did when they arrived at the hospital, and Lenalee sat next to Allen. Seph sat next to Lavi while Maria sat on Seph's lap, not that she minded. She just hoped she wasn't too heavy. Zoning out, she absentmindedly petted Snow while staring outside the window as Komui explained their long-term mission.

"You lot will guard General Cross." Maria nearly hit Seph's chin with the back of her head when Komui said that. Guard Cross? That womanizer? What was he? Nuts!?

"What!? Cross Marian!? Why should I guard that pedophile? He'll just try to get in my pants!" Outraged, Maria spoke up for the first time since the start of the carriage ride. She remembered the last time Cross tried to hit on her, and that didn't end so well for him.

Allen started to turn white again as he remembered everything that happened during his apprenticeship underneath Cross. "Master's not human…" He cried, holding onto the curtain. '_All those debts_,' he thought, becoming whiter than his hair if that was even possible.

"Now, now Maria, I'm sure Cross remembers what happened the last time he tried to hit on you, and I'm quite positive it won't happen again," Komui sweated nervously as he remembered the time Maria came back from a mission in a dangerous mood. Curious, he had looked through Snow's memories and found out what had happened earlier that day. The temperature in the carriage fell in a matter of seconds. Both Seph and Maria were now glaring daggers at Komui.

"You looked through Snow's memories, didn't you?" Maria's glare was enough to scar Komui for eternity. He paled at the shadows that were starting to grow on the bottom of the carriage.

"That bastard did what?" Behind her, Seph was smiling very dangerously. No one had told him what happened between Cross and Maria, fearing his wrath. At times Seph could be even scarier than Evan when it came to Maria; no one knew what he would do when he got angry. Komui shrank even further in his seat, cowering behind Bookman. There was no telling when a dagger would bury itself inside his throat.

Everyone else in the carriage paled at the sight of Seph's menacing smile. '_Well that's one guy I don't want to become enemies with_,' they all thought simultaneously.

* * *

The light of the moon shone on a sleeping city as a lone Akuma floated in the sky, patrolling the city. Scattered around the city, four exorcists lay in hiding, taking a break from killing the hordes of Akuma earlier. The Earl was very insistent in attacking this city tonight, it seemed.

"Hey—what—?" Daisya's voice could be heard from their golems, but the quality could've been a lot better.

"Huh? What did you just say?" Evan asked Daisya through his golem, catching his breath. Killing Akuma for an extended period of time was draining, but he had dealt with worse conditions when Sokaro trained him.

"The sound quality sucks Daisya," Marie remarked, listening for any Akuma that might be wandering around looking for the exorcists.

"Ah, hell, my wireless golem hasn't been doing too well lately. I think it might've been hit when I was out on that mission earlier." Daisya sighed. If his golem stopped working it'd be extremely hard to track each other down, even with Marie's excellent hearing.

"Where are you guys right now?" Kanda asked, panting slightly.

"Around 3 kilometers east of that weird looking tower?" Daisya answered even though it was more like a question than an answer.

"I'm about 5 kilometers west of it," Marie replied.

"I'm 6 kilometers north of it, I think," Evan stated. He unsheathed his sword Oblivion; they were here.

"I'm to the south," Kanda grunted, already annoyed due to the massive amount of Akuma that were beginning to gather again. Why can't they just die already?

"Wah! It's gonna be a long night," Daisya sighed, picking up Charity Bell.

"Let's regroup. If we're within a 10 kilometer radius, our golems should be able to locate each other," Kanda ordered. "Daisya, Evan and I will meet up at your location Marie."

"When?" Marie questioned, calmly listening to the Akumas' mutterings.

"Daybreak," Kanda stated, unsheathing Mugen and activating his Innocence.

"Sounds like a plan," Evan smirked, activating his own Innocence. His red eyes seemed to burn with flames as his sword glowed with power. Brandishing it as if it weighed nothing at all, Evan charged at the approaching Akuma. "Die!"

. . . . .

At last, the sun's rays peaked over the buildings, and the last of the Akuma were taken care of. The three of them stood at the designated meeting ground, but Daisya was nowhere to be seen. Hearing the sound of wings flapping, Marie led them towards the area where Daisya's golem was. The exorcist was nowhere to be seen.

Walking out of the archway, Evan eyes widened in shock as he stared at the horrifying sight before him. Daisya Barry was impaled and hung upside-down on a pole. Exactly the same way General Yeegar was found. Tearing his eyes away from the body, Evan focused on the details on the ground; dead bodies brought back too many painful memories. Kanda and Marie did the same as well. Both couldn't bear to look at their fallen comrade and they had more urgent things to do.

"We have to go now," Marie interrupted the silence. "Protecting General Tiedoll is of utmost importance; we have to find him before the Noah do."

Glancing back at his fellow exorcist, Evan slowly walked away with bitter thoughts on his mind.

_Daisya… I will avenge you._

* * *

**Poor Daisya :'(** _  
_

**Note: The person that Evan referred to as 'he' is actually Ryou, Maria's brother. Also, seiza is a form of puninshment where you sit with yours legs bent underneath you for a long time. **

**If you haven't guessed by now, Evan's innocence is fire. It's an equipment type and he uses a one-handed sword in order to attack. Seph's innocence is wind and he uses daggers and carries knives around with him. Don't get on his bad side c: Maria's innocence would be a parasitic shadow type. She can pull out practically anything from her shadow, but she usually prefers a scythe or twin swords depending on the situation. She can also create dogs from any shadow she desires, as long as it is big enough.**

**Anyways, please leave a review! :3**

**Mini Omake:**

**Lavi: Ne Maria-chan?**

**Maria: Yes, Idiot Lavi?**

**Lavi: What exactly happened between you and Cross?**

**Maria: Well if you want to know that badly...*kicks***

**Lavi: Urgh... I shouldn't have...asked that... *cries***

**Everyone: Note to self: Do not mess with Maria.**

**Sumi: Try to guess where Maria kicked both Cross and Lavi-kun! ;D**


	5. The Maiden of the East

**Chapter 5 is here~ I wrote this all in a day, so I'm very proud of myself. *^***

**Thank you to jokerose for once again editing and supporting me thus far! Also thank you to MusicianWish for the encouraging review! :3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man**

**And now on with the show~**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Maiden of the East**

* * *

Kind eyes framed by glasses stared out into the horizon. Chewing gum, Tiedoll furiously sketched a picture of the ruins before him. Footsteps slowly approached him, revealing the owners to be Kanda, Marie, and Evan.

"General Tiedoll," Marie called to him, breaking the delicate silence.

"Oh!" he turned, smiling at the exorcists. "Long time no see~ How are you doing Yu-kun?"

"Call me that again and I'll slice you, old man," Kanda pulled out Mugen with a murderous look in his eyes. "I don't care if you're my master or not."

"Now, now, Yu-kun," Tiedoll raised both hands, laughing. "You wouldn't do that now would you?"

"Che." Kanda sheathed Mugen and walked over to a wall, leaning against it.

Broadly grinning now, Tiedoll turned towards Evan, "Hello there Evan-kun," he cheerfully greeted. "You've grown since I last saw you."

Evan chuckled, reminiscing the last time he and the General had met each other. Long forgotten happiness reached his eyes as he replied, "Hello General. You still look the same as ever, I see."

"I'm an old man, don't hate me for not changing," Tiedoll laughed. "How's Joseph-kun? I haven't seen him since he joined the Order." Tiedoll pretended to pout slightly as he mentioned this.

"Seph's the same as ever," Evan grinned then briefly glanced at Kanda. "Although I expect his pranks to be more aggravating now that he's found a playmate since then."

"That child," Tiedoll chuckled. "He doesn't seem to grow up now does he? I remember how he always tried to blow away my drawings using his Innocence, Echo. It never worked out very well for him in the end though," he laughed. Glancing around, he noticed someone missing. "Where's Daisya…?"

Silence ensued as the three exorcists stared at the ground, grief clouding their expressions.

"…I see." Tears fell to the ground as Tiedoll recalled the pranks Daisya used to play on him as well. "He was such a good kid…" Taking out his sketch pad, Tiedoll began to furiously draw a scene that existed only in his memory.

"General," Kanda interrupted the silence. "The enemy is targeting the Innocence you possess."

"I agree with Kanda," Evan joined in. "The Noah are dangerous, and it wouldn't be wise to stay away from the Order any longer."

Speaking to himself, Tiedoll ignored the two as he finished his drawing. "This is just an illustration of the memories I saw, so it'll probably be different." Glancing up at the sky as he held a match to the drawing, Tiedoll kindly said, "Daisya, I'm sorry it's just a drawing, but I'm sending your hometown to you. May you rest in peace, somehow…"

Watching the drawing burn, Tiedoll spoke, "I can't return. We're in the middle of a war now, and I will live up to my responsibilities as a general. Moreover, I need to find new exorcists. If God hasn't abandoned us, I'm sure He will send us new exorcists." With that said, Tiedoll set off towards the east.

Sighing, Kanda and Marie began to follow their master.

'_Typical_,' Evan sighed as he trailed after them.

* * *

Maria sighed, staring at her reflection on the small pond where they stood waiting. She and Seph had been traveling with the party for a few days now, and they were now witnessing the handiness of Allen's newly evolved cursed eye. 'It's evolving just like an Akuma,' she thought, quietly observing the boy taking out a few Akuma before Seph threw a knife at the one that had appeared behind Allen, killing it.

"Damn you Allen!" Lavi shouted, shuddering from the sudden attacks from both Allen and the Akuma. "I've had it with this! You're even scarier than the Akuma!"

"Eh?" Allen inquired, deactivating his Innocence. "I just wanted to keep the damage to a minimum."

"You could at least have given a warning!" Lavi whined. "I'll get a heart attack if you keep doing that!"

The two boys continued bickering until Lenalee arrived from the sky with a cat in her arms. Shocked from its trip in the sky, the poor cat promptly spit out a half chewed Timcanpy and ran away from the group.

"Even so, how long is it going to take us to arrive at General Cross's location?" Krory, their new member, asked. "We've already been in China's mainland for four days already, and there's been no sign of the General. What if he's already dead?" The exorcist shuddered, becoming his pitiful self once again.

"That guy doesn't die even if you kill him, you know." Smiling innocently, Allen began reminiscing about his master once again.

"Poor guy," Seph muttered to Maria, both of whom were off to the side away from the group. "Just what happened while he was learning underneath Cross?"

Just then, Lenalee looked at Allen's arm and began crying about how fragile it seemed to be. The other guys were giving Allen reproachful looks for making her cry.

'What an interesting bunch,' Maria observed, smirking. Just then, Snow began tinkling, notifying her of an incoming call. "Oh?"

"Ria~!" A cheerful voice called to her from Snow.

Recognizing the familiar voice, Maria exclaimed, "Aya! How've you been? Where are you?"

"I'm good~," she replied cheerfully. "I was assigned to guard General Kloud; we're on our way back to the Order now."

"Lucky..." Maria sighed. "I'm stuck with that pedophile Cross, who disappeared like a ninja." Maria could hear Aya giggling through the line, and smiled. "Exaggerated a bit, but you know Cross. We're with his pupil right now. Apparently his golem Timcanpy can lead us to where the general is."

"I see~ I see~," Aya called from her golem. "By the way, how's Jojo?"

"Oi, don't call me that Aya," Seph sighed tiredly.

"Hehe I can see that he's doing well," Aya giggled. Just then, a faint voice could be heard through the line, calling for Aya. "Oh! Gotta go! I'll talk to you later Jojo and Ria~"

"Later," she called and hung up the conversation. Just then, Snow tinkled once again. "Another call?"

"Yo Maria-chan~!"

"What the hell do you want now Kevin," Maria asked with a sigh.

"Ooh harsh," he faked a hurt voice.

"Just get to the point already idiot."

"Got bad news for you," he said in a more serious tone. "Fair was found murdered two nights ago."

"Murdered?" Seph inquired, leaning in to hear better.

"Yep, with this it's been confirmed. The murderer who killed Florence was indeed aiming from the top notch and going down our list," Kevin explained.

"So that means..." Seph murmured, deep in thought.

"The killer's aiming for us in our original order," Kevin affirmed.

"Right," Maria agreed.

"Hey, hey, hey," Lavi suddenly placed his face near Maria's. "Whatcha doing?"

"Give me some personal space, idiot rabbit!" Maria shoved him away.

"Pushy," Lavi pouted and then walked away.

"Who was that?" Kevin asked, curious.

"Bookman's apprentice. We're traveling with them," Maria explained.

"I see," Kevin said. "Out of the original thirteen Elites, we're now down to six people."

"They started out by killing Teacher, and over the past two years, One through Six have been murdered as well. Alex Fair was the Seventh," Maria mused. "So if we're right, then-"

"William's next," Seph interrupted.

"After that is me, Aya, Evan, Seph, and last the Thirteenth."

"Me," Maria sighed. "Take care of yourself. Aya has everything covered; she's not traveling alone. Plus William can take care of himself."

"Who knows Shortstack," Kevin mocked lightly. "We know that even Will has his weaknesses."

"Oi Maria, Seph!" Lavi called to the two from a manju stand. "We've got a lead!"

"Gotta go Kev!" Maria called. "Don't get into any trouble just because I'm not there!"

"Don't worry about me," Kevin chuckled. "I can take care of myself too." Maria could practically see him sticking out his tongue playfully as she terminated the connection and ran up to the group.

"Finally," she muttered. "Where to?"

* * *

After a few hours of walking, the group came to a large building. "The mistress of a brothel?"

"According to the shop owner, General Cross is the new lover of that mistress," Krory informed them as they stared at the flashy building.

'Somehow, that sounds just like the General,' they all thought at once, sweat drops starting to form as they pictured the General surrounded by women. Nearing the entrance, their path was blocked by a well built man that appeared to be a woman when inspected closely. She also happened to look like a snake.

Picking up both Lavi and Allen, the woman gave them a menacing glare. Snickering, Seph called to the two panicking boys, "Careful, she might bite!" Snickering at their misery, Maria high-fived him as the woman quietly told them about the back entrance of the brothel.

"Welcome, Exorcists," a woman greeted them, smiling kindly. "I am Anita, the owner of this shop."

'_Beautiful_,' Lenalee, Krory, and Allen thought simultaneously, blushing. Bookman's hair suddenly sprang up as he blushed as well. A heart appeared in Lavi's eye as he yelled, "Strike!"

"She's beautiful," Seph swooned. Maria sighed and smacked him on the back of the head. She was beautiful, but their mission was to find Cross, not swoon over his woman. Rubbing his head, Seph smirked at Maria's reaction; she was jealous.

"I must apologize for the bluntness, but Master Cross is no longer here," Anita abruptly said, shocking the exhausted exorcists over the sudden news. "Eight days ago, he left to go on a journey. And…" Her next words shocked them all into silence.

_'Are you serious?'_ Maria thought, dismayed._ 'That idiot…'_

Breaking the silence, Lenalee asked, "What…did you say…?"

"The ship that left with Master Cross on a journey eight days ago has been sunk at sea." Anita calmly stated.

"Is there any proof?" Bookman inquired.

"We sent aid to other ships from which we received S.O.S. signals, but neither ship nor men were found," Anita answered him. "There were eerie remains of the ships, and a sea of poison spread from it."

"Where was the ship headed?" Allen suddenly asked, startling his companions. "Where was the sunken ship headed?" he repeated. "My master wouldn't have died so easily."

"Knowing Cross, he's too stubborn to die," Maria agreed. That womanizer was probably out there somewhere laughing about how he fooled everyone through his 'death.'

Tilting her head, Anita smiled sadly as a tear fell from one of her eyes. "You think so?" Allen calmly stared at her, confident in his master's amazing ability to survive. Turning her head, she gave orders to the woman from the entrance. "Mahoja, prepare my ship." Standing up, she explained, "Since my mother's generation, we have been supporters of the church and provided aid from the shadows. If you wish to pursue Master Cross, we are at your service. Our destination is Edo, Japan."

After giving orders to everyone, Anita walked towards Maria, who was standing by the window. Acknowledging Maria's questioning gaze, Anita only smiled. "Miss Maria Tsukiyomi?"

"Yes Miss Anita?" Maria asked, tilting her head.

"Master Cross wished me to pass on this message to you: don't let the darkness consume your heart; stay in the light, where you belong." With a last, kind smile, Anita walked away, leaving Maria to her thoughts.

_"Stay in the light?" He must be getting sentimental._ But she smiled nonetheless, remembering the same words being said to her long ago.

* * *

_Flames roared as they ran from the Akuma. Ryou held his sister's hand tightly as he pulled her towards their home, in which he knew that there was a basement with seals to prevent the Akuma from getting to them. Reaching the basement, Ryou hugged his sister firmly, whispering words of encouragement._

_"Maria, you're gonna be okay," he murmured quickly. "Listen to me. The Exorcists should be arriving here soon, and when you see them, I want you to go with them."_

_"No!" Maria hugged him back, desperately clinging to him. "I don't wanna go! I want to stay with you Brother!"_

_"I can't Maria," Ryou smiled sadly, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I promised Mom that I would protect you from all harm."_

_Sobbing now, Maria only shook her head, hugging him even tighter. "No Brother! Don't leave me!"_

_"I can't stay with you Maria," his voice cracked as his own tears started falling as well. "We both know that the seals can only be activated from the outside, and I'm the only one who can do it."_

_"I don't care!" Maria's heart was being broken as the brother she loved so much was leaving her. "You promised me! You promised me that we'd stay together forever!"_

_Crying as well, Ryou could only apologize. "I'm sorry."_

_A crash sounded from above as the Akuma forced its way into the house. Reacting quickly, Ryou pushed her into the room and shut the door. Placing his hands on the door, he activated the anti-Akuma seals. Once he finished, he leaned his head against the door, speaking words that only Maria could hear._

_"You belong in the light, Maria. Don't ever stop; keep walking. Stay strong, and maybe one day, we can see each other again. Never cease to believe in yourself. If you do, then I might just have to come back and whack you on the head again!" He paused. "I guess I'll be going now. I'll come back when it's all over. Farewell, Maria. You'll always be my precious sister." Smiling, he left his position by the door, running up the stairs to face the Akuma._

_Maria's legs gave away from underneath her as she screamed out her brother's name, begging him to come back. Her small hands scraped at the door until they started to bleed, but still she did not stop. Suddenly, all was still._

* * *

Maria woke up with a start, tears streaming down her eyes. The memory of her last minute with her brother was still fresh on her mind, and she slowly got out of bed and found her jacket. On the inside, there was a small pocket stitched in that held her dearest treasure. Ryou's last song. It was still stained with her blood from that day so many years ago, she realized. "Ryou," she murmured, holding her knees as she quietly cried. She missed him. She missed him so much.

Slipping on her boots, Maria walked out of the room that Anita had lent her for the night. She felt like paying a visit to the ocean.

. . . . .

Allen couldn't sleep. He was worried about his master's safety, even though he sounded so confident earlier that night. Sighing, he got out of bed. It was time for a walk.

Heading for the port, Allen was calmed by the sound of the waves crashing against the boats. It was just so soothing, so melodic that he lay down, staring at the full moon. Suddenly, he heard a quiet voice, full of melody and grief. Moving quietly towards the source, Allen was shocked to find Maria sitting with her feet hanging above the water, staring at the reflection of the moon on the waves. Allen was about to go towards her when she opened her mouth, a song emerging from her lips.

_You say my love is all you need, to see you through_  
_But I know these words are not quite true_

_Go, if you must move on alone  
__I'm gonna make it on my own_

_Kiss me goodbye, love's memory  
__Follow your heart and find your destiny__Won't shed a tear, for love's mortality  
__For you put the dream in my reality_

_As time goes by I know you'll see this of me:  
__I loved you enough to let you go free._

_Kiss me goodbye, love's mystery_  
_All of my life I'll hold you close to me_  
_Won't shed a tear for love's mortality_  
_For you put the dream into reality_

_Kiss me goodbye, love's memory  
__You put the dream in my reality_

Finishing her song, Maria continued to look at the ocean, tears streaming down her face. Allen's heart started to hurt at the sight of her crying. He had the urge to reach up and wipe her tears; to protect her from the things that would make her cry. He couldn't understand these urges. Why did he feel them only towards her? He hardly even knew the girl, yet it felt as if he had been waiting all his life to finally meet her again. What exactly was this feeling?

Unable to make up his mind, Allen decided to approach her. Trying not to scare her, Allen quietly stood there before speaking up quietly. "Are you alright?"

Shocked by his sudden appearance from behind her, Maria quickly wiped her tears before turning around to look at him. "You were listening." It wasn't a question.

Not attempting to lie, Allen simply said the truth. "Yes, I was." He moved to sit beside her. "Why were you crying?"

Maria hesitated. Should she tell this boy she felt a strange connection to? Or should she remain cold and aloof, assuming the mask she had worn ever since Ebony's death? The boy, Allen, saw her without her mask already. There was no point in continuing her façade of indifference anymore. Allen stared at her with a soft look in his eyes. It seemed so trusting, so innocent. She decided to tell him. "I remembered my brother."

Understanding dawned in his eyes as Allen faced the ocean. "Do you mind telling me about him?"

"He…died protecting me," Maria choked out, tears forming again as she remembered what had happened. She hugged her knees and buried her face in them.

Allen looked at her. She looked so lost sitting there with him; so alone. Everything clicked suddenly. The cold-hearted persona that the girl assumed was only a shield to protect her from ever shedding tears over someone she loved. She kept others at a distance in order to protect her already broken heart from shattering into nothingness. But that distance was what made her feel so alone, even when she was surrounded by people. Unconsciously, Allen's hand reached up and wiped the tears from her cheek.

Maria flinched from the sudden contact, but didn't move away. Instead, she looked up at Allen with her beautiful ice-blue eyes. She looked so vulnerable staring at him, and he suddenly hugged her, giving her a shoulder to cry on.

Maria, unable to handle the sadness anymore, began to cry for the first time in two years. She cried for her brother, who risked his life to protect her; she cried because she missed her mentor, Ebony Florence; she cried because Allen, who she hardly even knew, was showing her such warmth that she hadn't felt in years. He was kind enough to let her cry two years worth of tears on his shoulder, and that action touched the heart that she didn't even know she had.

Patting her back softly, Allen simply sat there comforting her as she let her heart out and relinquished her barriers.

When Maria's tears slowed, she pulled herself together and slowly lifted her head from Allen's now soaked shoulder. "Um… Sorry about your shirt," she apologized meekly, feeling quite embarrassed about crying so hard on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," Allen smiled, glad that she finally calmed down. He stood up, offering his hand to her.

Smiling, she took his outstretched hand and got up. Turning around to face him, Maria suddenly pecked him on the cheek. Giggling at his blush, she simply said, "It's my way of thanking you." With that said, she ran back into Anita's home.

After she left, Allen slowly lifted a hand up to his cherry red cheeks. Why were girls so confusing? He wondered. Didn't Maria already have Seph? What if that kiss really meant nothing to her after all? It was only on the cheek. Why was he getting so worked up about a small peck on the cheek? Allen sighed tiredly. He only thought of her as a dear friend...right?

Unbeknownst to the white haired boy who now stood alone on the dock, a figure hiding in the darkness had witnessed everything between the two earlier. His single red eye gleamed in the darkness as he smirked slightly, "See? She doesn't need you either."

**_"...Shut up."_**

The reply only made him grin wider in a maniacal way. "What will you do now..."

"Seph...?"

* * *

**Yay some AllenXMaria fluff! I hope this scene made you happy :3 I hope I didn't make him sound OOC in this chapter :x **

**Sorry for the numerous Final Fantasy references so far XD I just went to their Distant Worlds concert last Friday, so the songs are stuck in my head right now XD Not that it's a bad thing though :3 If any of you were wondering about the song, it was 'Kiss Me Goodbye' from Final Fantasy XII. I basically fell in love with the song when I heard it at the concert; it's just so emotional and brings out the sadness in the singer. She sang this song in memory of her deceased brother, who left it to her before he died. **

**Please review! :3**


	6. Stand Up

**Herro again~! I'll keep this short so you can get on with the story XD**

**Thank you to jokerose, MusicianWish and those of you who looked at my story! :3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man**

**And on with the show~**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Stand Up**

* * *

Maria stared out at the wide expanse of the ocean in a daze. They were finally on their way to find Cross Marian, who was initially presumed dead but the exorcists had their doubts. She glanced up at Allen who was sitting way up on the mast, staring into the distance. Giggling, she remembered the look on his face last night when she had kissed him on the cheek. He was so cute.

"Maria!" Seph called to her suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. Something was wrong. Glancing up, Maria saw the horde of Akuma that were heading towards the boat.

"Prepare for attack!" Mahoja shouted. "All hands, grab a weapon!"

Quickly activating her Innocence, Maria pulled out her swords, preparing for battle. Spreading out on the ship, the exorcists readied their weapons, only to find that the Akuma were ignoring them, instead choosing to pass over the ship.

"What are they…?" Allen murmured, halting his attack on the Akuma.

"What are they doing?" Lavi looked up at the Akuma, disbelief in his eyes.

"They're passing over the ship!?" Seph glanced around quickly, examining for anything that seemed suspicious.

Looking up, Maria saw that Allen had collapsed and was being taken away by the Akuma. "Damn it! He must have been overusing his Innocence!" She tried running towards him, but was stopped by an Akuma.

"Ah ah ah~" it crooned, wagging what must have been a finger at her. "You're my prey!"

"Tch!" Destroying it with one swing of her swords, Maria quickly glanced around but was unable to find the white-haired Exorcist. Another Akuma quickly approached her and she quickly disposed of it. "Allen!" More Akuma replaced the ones that she destroyed by the second, leaving her no time to look for the missing Exorcist. "Damn it all!" She stabbed a sword into the ground and let it sink in to form several ferocious black dogs with gleaming yellow eyes. They opened their jaws and snarled as they emerged from the large black shadow created from Maria's sword.

"Maria what are you-?" Lavi paused in the midst of battle and stared dumbfounded at the girl.

She merely ignored him and glanced at her remaining sword before tossing it into the air. When the tip of the sword pointed towards the ground, she raised both hands and let the sword fall and hit the palm of one of her hands. Instead of stabbing her like Lavi had expected it to, the jet black blade scattered around her arms like water and soon solidified, becoming two enormous claws that looked similar to Allen's Innocence's activated form.

Lavi's eyes seemed to pop out of his head as soon as he saw the form of her Innocence. "Is that a...parasitic Innocence?!"

"What else did you think it was?" Seph quipped as he calmly destroyed the Akumas one by one, breathing calmly as though it were a walk in the park. He glanced over to Lavi and saw an Akuma suddenly drop behind him. "Watch out!"

Before both boys could react, Bookman quickly destroyed the looming Akuma behind Lavi. "Concentrate on the fighting you fools."

"Thanks Panda," Lavi called prompting a loud smack from Bookman. "Ow..." he rubbed his head and turned to face Seph, who was grinning widely. "Shut up," he pouted, making Seph's grin grow even wider.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Seph shouted before once again running towards the Akuma, his daggers in hand. Quickly spotting an Akuma, he ran with his body low to the ground before jumping up and bringing both daggers up to make an X as he slashed through the Akuma and emerged from the smoke caused by the explosion with such speed that Lavi was amazed.

Spotting this from above on the mast, Maria jumped down next to her best friend and muttered, "Show off."

"Look who's talking," Seph quipped before they stood back to back against the oncoming Akuma. Both smirked slightly before leaping off in opposite directions, fighting their own battles and occasionally coming to the help of the other. Their teamwork was superb after two years of battles fought side by side. They understood each others strengths and weaknesses and their fighting style complemented and accommodated for both. When Seph found an Akuma that he couldn't do well against, he simply huffed and placed a hand out behind him. When he felt another hand grasp his own, he swung it around with all his night and sent Maria flying towards his opponent while he took care of hers.

Years of friendship and partnership on the battlefield had cultivated a system that the two followed wordlessly and efficiently. A huff meant "I may need help" while a grunt meant "I've got you covered."

Lavi momentarily paused after his battle to stare in awe at their teamwork, something that none of the other Exorcists could achieve without getting in the way of one another. _So this is what it means to be an Elite..._

Both Exorcists suddenly stopped when the Akuma began to retreat towards the mainland. "Did we...win?" Maria panted as she wiped sweat off of her forehead.

"Don't know," Seph said rather tiredly. "How many do you think you kill?"

"Around...34?" Maria guessed. "Unless you're gonna count the ones my dogs killed, that's probably over 70 or 80."

"Heh. I got 46," Seph smirked. "And no I'm not counting those. That's cheating!"

"Nuh uh!" Maria countered. The two then began bickering light-heartedly about who destroyed the most Akuma while the others simply listened to their conversation.

In the midst of their bickering, Maria suddenly went quiet as her eyes widened. Murmuring something inaudibly, she brought her hands to her mouth as she gasped. Seph's eyes instantly widened in alarm and he immediately ran towards her, his face full of worry.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Maria's eyes were still wide open as she repeated the same thing over and over again. "It's coming."

Suddenly something shot out of the water, making the remaining Akuma back up in fear. "W-what in the world is that thing?" Seph gasped, staring at the enormous monstrosity in horror. Beside him, Maria's legs suddenly ran out of strength and she collapsed onto the ground, her arms trembling as she clutched her sides. Her eyes were wide open and she looked as if she were trying to restrain herself from doing something. "Maria? What's wrong?!" Seph frantically asked as he grasped her shoulders to keep her from shaking.

"A Fallen One," Maria murmured barely loud enough for him to hear. "He has 'failed' in the eyes of God and is no longer compatible with Innocence." She slowly got back up on her feet with the help of Seph and stared at the Fallen One's path. Her eyes widened in realization as she realized who would be near there. "Shit...!" Turning to Seph, she muttered, "Allen and Lenalee are probably near the Fallen One. We have to go help them!"

"Alright," Seph replied. He looked around for Lavi and spotted him once again fighting Akuma. "Lavi!" he called trying to grab the red haired Exorcist's attention. "Take care of the boat! We'll find Allen and Lenalee!"

Lavi could only nod slightly before his attention was once again taken by the Akuma in front of him. After defeating it, he paused and momentarily glanced at the sky.

_What's going on…? Why is the sky so red…?_

* * *

Leaping from rock to rock, Maria's eyes scanned the empty horizon. "Where are they..." she whispered to herself, worried. Seph also had a worried look in his eyes as they passed through the path of destruction caused by the Fallen One. Soon, they saw a massive entity being pushed back by an equally enormous claw. Allen. Abandoning all caution, Maria leapt towards the Exorcist. "Al-" Suddenly a dark shadow streaked towards her and knocked her out of the air. "Oof!" she gasped as the air was knocked out of her.

"Maria!" Seph shouted and began heading towards her.

Slowly getting up, Maria held up a hand, signaling him to ignore her and help Allen. She glanced at him, a small but weary smile touching her lips. Don't worry. I can handle this. She refocused on her attacker as soon as she saw that Seph had left.

There was a large black panther slowly circling her with a young girl sitting atop it. She was wearing a frilly black dress and a black lace hat that seemed to blend in with her dark brown pigtails. Her face was void of emotion yet her storm grey eyes showed a slight tinge of disdain. "Weak," she scoffed.

"Who are you?" Maria demanded as she slowly put both hands behind her back and grabbed something from behind her. At first, a sword handle appeared, then came black energy that soon solidified into a glistening black blade that seemed to melt into her shadow. She raised one sword and pointed it at the young girl, while her other sword tip pointed at the ground.

The girl smirked in contempt before delicately touching the tip of her rapier. "If you win," she began slowly, "I'll tell you my name~" She playfully stuck out her tongue as the panther let out a roar. She swished her rapier to the ground with such speed that Maria saw the afterimage of the blade. "But if you lose," her eyes glinted maliciously. "You die~"

"Fine by me," Maria smirked, accepting the challenge. The girl before her slid off her panther, and slowly walked towards Maria. The two stood still for a minute, judging the other's first moves, trying to see who would make the first strike. Finally, their standoff came to an end as the girl made the first move, quickly leaping towards Maria, who reacted a nanosecond later. Their blades met in the middle and Maria gritted her teeth, trying to hold off the fierce young girl's rapier with one sword. With her right sword, Maria attempted to attack the girl from underneath, but she saw it and quickly sprang back. Maria used the distance to her advantage and swiftly began attacking the girl with both swords, attacking first with her left, then right, then blocked before sending a kick that knocked the girl away. Continuing with her momentum, she aimed a stab at the girls lower body, but had her sword knocked to the side when the girl promptly counterattacked her now exposed back.

"Ahh!" Maria cried out from the pain as the girl swiftly drew more blood across her back before Maria could react. Panting heavily, Maria launched another series of attacks at her, but this time all of her attacks were parried effortlessly and Maria grew increasingly frustrated after each consecutive strike was deflected. "Just-" She twisted to dodge a counterattack and used that momentum to land another blocked blow, but with her other sword, she aimed another strike at the rapier's handle, where it should have been weakest. "Die-" Her second attacked bounced off the rapier with a loud clang, and the girl moved in to strike a blow at one of Maria's vital spots. Acting on instinct, Maria leaned far back and narrowly dodged a stab to her chest. Losing her balance and falling to the ground, Maria used her mishap to quickly kick the rapier out of the girl's hand. "Already!" She shouted as she quickly leapt to her feet and closed in for the kill. The girl's eyes widened in surprise, but the expression was soon replaced by a wide smirk as the previously inactive panther leaped from behind her and knocked Maria to the ground and held her there firmly while the girl casually picked up her rapier.

"I'm disappointed in you, Tsukiyomi," the girl sighed as she sadly shook her head. "We were expecting much more from you."

"'We'...?" Maria repeated softly as she struggled to free herself from the panther's claws.

The girl paused in front of Maria and stared down at her emotionlessly. "You lose." She raised her rapier high in the air and prepared to bring it swiftly down on Maria's throat.

Suddenly a red and black boomerang flew in and knocked the descending rapier out of the girl's hand. "What...!" the girl gasped as her eyes followed the boomerang in its path back to its owner.

"You do know that Lady North would not like us to dispose of the target so soon, don't you Eight? Or should I say, Khalia?" A boy around fifteen years old stood atop a large boulder that had fallen during the Fallen One's path of destruction. He pulled down the hood of his cloak to reveal grey eyes coupled with short, chestnut brown hair. His face was void of emotion as he reached up and caught the returning boomerang.

The girl - Khalia - smirked before retorting, "I could say the same thing to you Revis. Why show your face to the enemy now?"

"Lady North ordered me to bring you back," he said, ignoring her question.

Khalia picked up her fallen rapier and sheathed it with a sigh. "Orders are orders," she mused before walking towards Revis. "Leon," her high-pitched voice rang across the clearing as she confidently walked towards Revis, who summoned a large portal made of shadows. The enormous black panther reacted to Khalia's voice and slowly stepped off of Maria and padded over to where Khalia now stood. Sparing Maria one last glance, Khalia smirked ever so slightly before the corridor of darkness consumed them.

Maria wearily stared at the now empty space where the trio had stood only a moment before as she wiped off some blood from her mouth using her sleeve. The cuts on her back stung greatly and she wondered if there were any deep cuts. Gingerly taking off her jacket, Maria carefully tied the jacket over her wounds, trying to stanch the flow of blood while hissing in pain.

Once the jacket more or less slowed the flow of blood, Maria tentatively stood up and limped in the direction of the boat. Her head was throbbing and she could feel her face grow paler as time passed. This was going to be a hell of a walk.

* * *

After leaving Maria behind to deal with the mysterious foe, Seph hurriedly looked for Allen, who once again disappeared while they were distracted. Spotting the enormous Fallen One, Seph finally recognized the Exorcist who stood in its path. Allen.

"Allen!" Seph shouted to him, moving closer and closer to the Fallen One. Looking at the face, he hesitated. "Is that-!"

Not noticing him, Allen shouted to the man inside the Fallen One, "Didn't you want to live Suman!?" But before Allen could push his Innocence harder, it suddenly deactivated as it finally reached its limit. "Ah…ahhhhhhhh!"

"Allen!?" Seph exclaimed, worried about the boy's sudden deactivation. Glancing at Allen's arm, he realized that Allen had reached his limit and was suffering from a rebound from using his Innocence to the maximum. "Shit…! Allen, hang in there!"

"Someone….ahhhhhhhhh!" Allen screamed as a new round of pain emerged in his arm. "Stop…" he whispered.

Seph quickly looked at Suman Dark, the fallen exorcist. This was bad. He was heading towards the small town nearby. "Allen, stay here, I'll come back for you!" Making a split-second decision, Seph leapt towards Suman.

"Suman! Snap out of it!" he shouted to no avail. "Damn it!"

"...Jamie," Suman whispered, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. Seph looked at him questioningly before he heard something tick. Opening his mouth, Suman screamed in pain. "Ahhhhh!"

Seph's eyes widened in horror; Suman's time was up. Quickly jumping away from the body, he could only watch as a ray of light landed upon the body, disintegrating it. Glancing down at the ground, he could see the ground cracking and being drawn towards the vortex. "Damn it, Allen," he cussed, looking around for the white-haired exorcist. "Where are you?" Finally spotting a flash of black on the Fallen One, he realized what Allen was going to do. "No Allen don't-!"

"I have to try!" Allen called to him before activating his Innocence once again.

The last thing Seph remembered was a bright flash and an explosion before he blacked out. Before his consciousness faded, Seph thought he heard a voice from deep inside his mind.

_**"I knew I shouldn't have left things to you."**_

. . . . .

Seph's right eye opened to reveal a blood red eye. Slowly getting up, he readjusted his eye patch to cover his left emerald green eye. As he calmly observed his now ruined surroundings, Seph briskly brushed the dust off of himself and adopted a bored look on his face. Stretching slightly, he sighed in content, "It's been a while since I've been in control."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and calmly strolled away from the destruction in the general direction of the boat. Whistling quietly, Seph came across Maria, who had collapsed onto the ground due to exhaustion and blood loss.

Seph remained calm as he slowly knelt down and lightly ran his fingers over her lower back. He felt something wet on the tips of his fingers and looked at them, not surprised to find blood; the whole vicinity stank of it. Gently picking her up, Seph slowly walked back in the direction of the boat, careful not to jostle Maria too much lest her wounds open up again.

He glanced up at the pitch black sky and realized that he would have a hell of a time finding his way back on foot. He let out a soft sigh before murmuring, "Innocence, activate!" The daggers began to shine a luminescent green light in their sheaths. Using his Innocence's ability to manipulate air to propel himself smoothly through the air, he quickly leaped towards the boat where they had left the others.

He saw a bright flash of green moving quickly through the air and realized that it was the female Exorcist that had left the boat to follow Allen. What was her name again? Leanne? _'Lenalee'_ a soft voice inside of him whispered. He ignored the voice that urged him to confront her and hurried towards the ship, occasionally glancing down at Maria, who lay unconscious and very pale in his arms.

Soon arriving at the ship, Seph landed on deck, quickly causing a ruckus among the weary sailors. Lavi quickly ran up to him, "Seph!" Seph glanced at him with his one red eye and proceeded to ignore the red haired Exorcist. "Oi!" Lavi noticed the eye and change in attitude and was quick to assume the worst. "You're not Seph! Where is he?!"

Seph chuckled darkly, "Indeed I'm not that weakling. And where he is doesn't matter to you. Isn't that right _Bookman Junior_?"

Lavi gritted his teeth and bent down to examine Maria, who was still unconscious and breathing raggedly. "Oi Panda!" He called, motioning Bookman to come over. "Can you treat her?"

Bookman carefully untied Maria's soaked jacket and inspected her wounds, wincing at the number and depth of them. Whoever had done this aimed to mortally wound or cripple her. Lavi gaped at the amount of blood that was still flowing and covered the pseudo-Seph, whom he still distrusted.

"Is she going to be alright?" Seph asked quietly as he stood over to the side while Bookman treated Maria.

Focused on his task of treating the Exorcist's wounds, Bookman hardly spared him a glance as he replied, "She'll be fine after some rest. It's a miracle she survived for this long."

"That's...good." Seph's eyes closed and he soon collapsed on the deck with a loud thump. Hearing the sudden noise made Bookman glance around and inspect the commotion behind him, where Seph had collapsed. Quickly opening his eyes to check on Seph's condition, Bookman's eyes widened as he saw both his red and green eyes. _You are...!_

"Lavi!" He called. The worried apprentice came to his side as he issued orders. "Take him to a room."

"Who is he? Didn't he say he wasn't Seph?" Lavi demanded.

Bookman only smacked him on the back of the head, "He's Joseph! Now shut up and take him to his room!" Lavi rubbed his head and muttered something about losing brain cells but picked up Seph and carried him to his room. After Lavi had left, Bookman continued to treat Maria's wounds, deep in thought.

* * *

"Oi~" Seph poked Maria's cheek. "Wake up~!" He poked her cheek a bit harder. His eyepatch now hid his red eye, revealing his bright emerald left eye.

Maria's eyes fluttered open as she stretched in bed. "Seph…? Where am I?" She yawned sleepily.

"We're on the boat," he replied casually. "It's been 3 days since you fell unconscious."

"Three days…?" She yawned again. Suddenly she sat up as the realization came to her. "Wait what!? Three days!?" Quickly getting out of bed, Maria suddenly felt a sharp sting on her lower back and he. "Damn it…!"

Seph chuckled as he helped her up. "I'm kidding. That was just to get you out of bed. It's only been a day since the attack yesterday."

Pouting slightly, Maria lightly punched him in the shoulder. Glancing around at the their surroundings, she noticed that everything was surprisingly new and looked at him questioningly. "What happened to the other boat?"

"It's the same one," Seph replied nonchalantly. "The Order sent another exorcist to help us continue our journey: Miranda Lotto. She used her Innocence of time to repair the boat."

"Time, huh?" Maria whistled in awe. "She has an amazing power."

Seph then threw a bundle of clothes at her. When she looked at him, he only said, "Komui sent us new uniforms since ours were destroyed." Nodding, Maria promptly proceeded to kick her childhood friend out of her room. Literally.

"Is she changing?" Lavi asked him, witnessing the scene.

Rubbing his now sore butt, Seph nodded. "She just woke up a few minutes ago."

Finished changing, Maria proceeded to look at herself in the mirror. Her new uniform consisted of a white blouse trimmed in red along with a black belt that went around the shirt. She wore black shorts with a white belt looped around and a matching black mini jacket with white stripes that ran along the sides of the sleeves complemented with silver cuffs and trimmings along with a loose collar. Her black fingerless gloves matched the color of her favorite knee high combat boots that had the same silver buckles. Around her neck she wore her silver cross that Seph had given her as a birthday present many years ago.

"Johnny knows my style," she complimented as she walked out of the room. Seph had already finished changing and was poking Bookman's hair, commenting on how it never looked messy. His uniform consisted of a classy black overcoat with silver trimmings and the silver rose cross on his left chest. He wore a simple dark grey V-neck and black pants with a black belt looped around them. He wore plain black boots that were as dark as midnight as well as a silver cross around his neck that looked exactly like Maria's.

Lavi jumped up and down, testing his uniform. The new exorcist whom she assumed to be Miranda looked at Lenalee with sad eyes. The girl was staring off into space, her face contorted with misery.

"Lenalee…" Miranda murmured her eyes full of worry.

"She is still trying to sort herself out," the old panda explained. "Miss Lenalee is fully regretting leaving Allen's side last night." Lavi stopped jumping. "She is condemning herself."

Unable to take her grief anymore, Lavi punched a hole in the window. "Just cut it out already," he hissed, scowling when she paid no attention to him. "There was nothing we could have done! We were all desperately fighting for our lives yesterday!" Lenalee continued to stare blankly and Lavi gritted his teeth. "There was no way…any of us could have helped him!" Reaching his limit, Lavi finally shouted, "This is a war! We had no choice! **Get over it and stand up**!"

Tears fell from Lenalee's eyes as he said this, and everyone looked at Lavi reproachfully. Bookman promptly began punishing the boy, quietly whispering to him. Maria had had enough of this. She walked up to Lenalee and slapped her in the face.

"You're despicable," she muttered darkly; Lenalee's eyes gazed up at her in shock as she held her cheek. "What's the use over crying over spilled milk? Crying isn't going to bring Allen back. What's done is done, and we just have to deal with it." Laughing bitterly, Maria continued, "You remind me of how I was in the past. When my brother died, all I could do was cry. I was weak, and relied on others to deal with the pain for me. I turned a blind eye to the truth, believing that looking at it would be worse than how I had lived my life. I was wrong. When my mentor died, all I could do was cry, too. But crying helps no one but yourself. That's why I hated going back to headquarters; it was filled with people like you, who can't even control your own emotions." Finally releasing the emotions that had been bottled up inside of her, Maria stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Seph started to follow her, but glanced back at Lenalee. "She's right ya know. Crying won't help Allen; moving on will. He would have wanted us to find Cross no matter what happened to him." Throwing a lopsided grin at her tear-filled eyes, he left to join Maria.

Silence ensued as the exorcists stood there absorbing everything that they had heard. Bookman broke the silence. "I do not believe that the boy prophesied as the 'Destroyer of Time' can be dead." Lenalee looked up at him. "I asked to join General Cross's unit because I was interested in the boy. I thought that the word 'Time' in 'Destroyer of Time' may be referencing a certain man." He paused, waiting for them to take in the information. "If that is the case, then he cannot die here."

Staring in the direction where the two exorcists had gone, Lenalee quietly whispered, "Maria… Seph… Thank you."

Standing outside of the door, Seph and Maria smiled softly at the old man's words. This wasn't the last that they would see of the boy named Allen Walker, "Destroyer of Time."

* * *

**Woo~ I hope nothing sounds too weird. I suck at writing action. And excuse me for my Latin; I had to use a translator and my school doesn't offer Latin. v.v; Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong xD**

**Please review~! :3**

***Edit* Hehehe just who is this mysterious boy who took control of Seph~? Only time will tell~ ;P**


	7. The Strength to Believe in Oneself

***Edit* For those of you who haven't read from the beginning as of 11/9, please go back and read now! I changed up the plot and characters a bit so you'll be confused if you start from here! D:**

**I like how this story's going so far! :3 **

**Thank you to jokerose and MusicianWish for the support and reviews! Also thank you to Scarletfire13 for the favorite :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man**

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Strength to Believe in Oneself**

* * *

Maria was in Seph's room that night, sitting on the edge of his bed while he lay on it, arms behind his head as both red and green eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. "Hey…Seph?" She began tentatively.

"Hm?" came the reply.

"Do you think that Allen is gonna come back?"

Seph shifted in bed, propping himself on one arm to look at her. "I'm sure of it," he chuckled. "Knowing that kid and his master, both are too stubborn to die."

"You think so?" Worried blue eyes stared at him in the light of the moon shining through the window. They seemed so…lost.

Seph nodded. "Positive." Smiling, he opened his arms, inviting her in for a hug. Maria smiled and lay in the bed with him as he wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her in a warm embrace. She wished that they could stay like that forever, that this peaceful moment would last for eternity. How she longed for that wish to come true.

Soon she felt Seph's breathing slow down peacefully as he fell asleep. Quietly moving out of his arms, Maria crept up to the deck.

The night sky was beautiful as the moon shone on the ocean once again, reminiscent of two nights ago, when she and Allen had last talked. Glancing around on deck, she noticed another person on deck. Approaching him, she asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Lavi looked at her, startled. Hiding the card, he simply replied, "Just thinking."

"About Allen?" She guessed.

"Kind of," he nervously laughed. Her ice-blue eyes continued to stare at him, seemingly aware of his inner turmoil. He sighed and began to elaborate on his thoughts. "I…Bookmen aren't allowed to get caught up in the affairs of others. We're only involved in order to record history. That's why we have no need for a 'heart.'" Why was he saying this to her? He hardly even knew her! Yet somewhere inside, he knew that she would be willing to listen to his story.

Her eyes signaled him to continue. Sighing, he obliged. "I…I'm supposed to be apathetic; I can't have these feelings of comradeship if I want to become a Bookman. But I can't help it…! I _want_ to save Allen; I _want_ to help Lenalee; I _want_to stay with my friends!"

Maria nodded in understanding. Lavi was just like her: lost and confused. She sighed, hoping that her next words would ease his mind a bit. "You're human. It's only natural to feel these emotions." She paused before continuing. "Even if you've built up a wall around yourself, eventually someone will come into your life and tear it down." Maria smiled fondly as she said this, and Lavi momentarily blushed at her smile.

_I see… Deep down inside, she's just like me. Her cold appearance and words don't match what she feels on the inside._He realized, envious of the person who came into her life that could have made her smile look so genuine.

"You…really aren't as bad as I thought you were." Lavi smiled at the girl, who scoffed.

"Of course I'm not! That's only because I didn't know you back then!" Lavi ruffled Maria's hair and she puffed as she tried to fix it. "Also, Lenalee needed someone to knock some sense back into her." Something quietly landed on the deck behind them.

Laughing Lavi casually leaned against the railing. "I know, I know."

They didn't even see it coming.

* * *

"Urgh…!" Maria struggled to breathe as the Akuma stepped on her neck, slowly crushing her windpipe. Her vision blurred. This wasn't good. Both exorcists were caught by surprise and Lavi was buried somewhere underneath the rubble.

"Title: An Exorcist's Corpse," it rasped, making a frame around Lavi's still hand.

"Goukakaijin: Configuration of Ash. Direct Fire Seal!"

A hammer landed on the Akuma's head, making it momentarily step back just enough for Maria to roll to the side coughing. "Damn it! I got some pointless injuries." As the smoke cleared, Lavi noticed Maria desperately trying to crawl away from the Akuma. "Shit! Maria…!" Glancing back to where the Akuma still stood, Lavi's eye widened in disbelief. "How did you…!"

"Title: How did you recover…?" The Akuma knocked away Lavi's hammer, sending the boy onto the ship's mast.

Still coughing, Maria weakly looked up at Lavi as the other exorcists ran onto the deck. "Lavi…"

Lavi gazed up at the Akuma in fear. He had never encountered on this strong before. The level three floated up to him. "Title: Head Smash." Lavi closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable, but it never came. He opened his eyes to see the punch being blocked by the old man's needles.

"Black needles?" It observed.

"Heavenly Compass: Compass of Spells. North Crime!" Bookman surrounded the Akuma with his Innocence as he leapt onto a rope hanging above the being.

"Gramps!" Lavi screamed before falling off the mast.

At that moment, Seph noticed Maria lying on the ground half dead. "Maria!" He ran over to her and picked her up.

"Seph…!" She winced as she violently coughed again. Glancing up, she saw that the Akuma had taken the old panda into the sky.

"Gramps!" Lavi shouted yet again as he shot up into the sky with his hammer, following Bookman. Hearing something, he looked up towards the moon.

"Title: Old Man and the Moon."

Lavi caught him as the old man fell, shouting when he noticed the panda unconscious. At that moment, Lenalee came from behind him. "Return to the ship, Lavi."

Lavi was about to argue against her when he felt his wounds return. "Tch…!"

The Akuma spotted Lenalee coming towards him. "Title," it began, making a frame around the girl with its fingers. "Are you next?"

"I will kill you." Lenalee said determinedly.

"No Lenalee!" Lavi yelled at the girl. "He's a level 3, he's far too powerful! You can't fight him alone!" Lenalee only ignored him, concentrating on the battle. Lavi watched her swift attacks barely miss the Akuma as it easily dodged and attacked her. Rapidly dodging it's second punch, Lenalee wrapped her legs around its arm and knocked it towards the water. "Lenalee!" Lavi called out to her, worried.

"I'm alright, Lavi." She looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm alright now," she repeated. "I've made my decision. Go ahead of me and protect the boat." Putting forth a burst of speed, Lenalee fell faster towards the water. "I'll be sure to catch up to you later," she murmured quietly.

Lavi was torn between his desire to help Lenalee and his duty as a future Bookman. "L-Lavi," Bookman muttered to him. "Re-return to the…ship. It's not just him… In the clouds…there are many more!" Lavi quickly glanced up at the clouds just as an enormous amount of shots came out of the coverage, hitting the ship.

Back on the ship, Maria was looking up at the sky when she noticed numerous projectiles rapidly approaching the ship from the clouds. Quickly activating her Innocence, she created a bulletproof shield large enough for her and Seph, as well as the people around them. Her eyes glazed in pain as she tried to increase the radius of her shield but to no avail; any further than this and she would suffer the consequences. She could only watch as the other crew members were hit again and again by the Akuma's bullets. Suddenly she spotted a large tentacle emerge from the water, making its way towards Miranda. Pushing the woman out of harm's way, she was swept off the boat by the Akuma.

Miranda, shocked by the sudden arrival of the water Akuma, only sat there looking shocked before screaming, "Maria-san!"

Pulled deeper and deeper into the water, Maria struggled to get free of the large tentacle, but her efforts were futile. The Akuma's strength far overpowered her own. She could faintly make out someone standing underneath the water, crossing her arms. _Teacher...?_The woman slowly walked towards her and held a finger up to Maria's lips.

"Wrong~" She said in a singsong voice. The woman raised her hand to her lips and blew a kiss, but an enormous air bubble came from her lips instead. Maria was suddenly absorbed into the air bubble and she knelt on the ground, her throat burning due to the seawater she had accidentally ingested.

"Who...are you?" She panted trying to regain her composure. The woman before her wore a cloak that was strangely dry even though she had been underwater just before. The cowl of her cloak covered most of her face, but Maria could see the ends of her short, boyish black hair through the shadow of the cowl.

"Someone from the past." She replied mysteriously, and danced around a bit before placing her hand on the spot where the giant Akuma that had pulled her in appeared. "So how did you like Cetus?" She smiled maliciously while Cetus let loose a low growl.

Maria said nothing. She was too busy sorting through her memories for the face of the woman who seemed so familiar to her, yet she had no recollection of ever meeting her.

The woman grew impatient and took out a small pin. Fingering it delicately, she slowly and smoothly slid it into Maria's shoulder. Maria's eyes widened in shock and she screamed as the pin soon lodged itself there. "I _said_," the woman said dangerously, "did you enjoy your new friend?"

Maria glared at the woman as she attempted to pull out the pin from her shoulder that screamed in pain. The woman calmly stared down at Maria as her amber eyes regarded her in quiet contempt. After extracting the small pin, Maria sent it flying towards the woman, who effortlessly dodged it.

" Pitiful," the woman sighed and shook her head as if she was disappointed in her. "We were hoping that you weren't this weak. I suppose Khalia was correct in her report earlier." She placed a foot on Maria's injured shoulder and pointed a small emei dagger at her heart. "Now...how should I make you suffer...?" Maria winced as pain once again erupted in her injured shoulder. "Oh I know!" The woman suddenly perked up as an idea came to her. Raising one of her hands, she pointed her dagger at Maria's stomach and swiftly brought it down.

Maria's eyes widened as the pain exploded from her gut and she screamed at the burning fire that appeared to have emerged at the same time as the wound in her stomach. Clutching her stomach with one hand, she rolled to her side as tears streamed from her eyes. The blood flowed freely and spread around her in a puddle, staining her blond hair a crimson red.

The woman gingerly stepped around her and knelt down so that her face was inches away from Maria's, whose eyes burned with hatred. "What a beautiful expression you have there," she smiled sadistically. "Now...where were we?" She placed a finger on Maria's chin and tilted it up to look at her. "Oh yes!" The sadistic smile grew wider. "You were drowning."

Maria's eyes widened as she realized the true meaning of the woman's words. She quickly held her breath as water suddenly poured into the bubble, returning Maria and Cetus into the depths of the ocean. The sea monster's large tentacle once again wrapped around and pulled her deeper towards the bottom of the ocean. The pressure of the water pressed down on her lungs; she couldn't hold her breath any longer than this. Her consciousness began to fade as her memories flashed before her eyes. Her vision soon faded into nothingness.

A sudden voice called out to her in her stupor.

**He's a tough one, isn't he?**

Her eyes widened. _That voice…!_

_…Brother? What are you…?_

**I seem to remember a time when you were able to handle Akuma tougher than this. What happened? **Her brother's voice lightly teased her.

_I…_

**Don't worry, I'm here.**

_Brother, I-I miss you._

**Remember what I said that day?**

She remembered.

_"Never cease to believe in yourself."_

**Do you believe Maria…?**

She opened her eyes.

**Do you believe…in yourself?**

_I do._

Maria reached inside her heart, where she knew her Innocence would be. _Innocence, give me the strength… Give me the strength to protect my comrades…!_

Her Innocence responded questioningly. It seemed to be asking, "Why?"

_Because…_

Her mind's eye shined with conviction.

_Because I believe…_

Her Innocence waited for her to continue.

_Because I believe in creating a greater future for this cruel, ridiculous, yet beautiful world._

Her Innocence complied. "Fair enough," it seemed to say.

**See? Everything's…alright.**

* * *

**I love Ryou :3 Such a sweet brother. I wish I had one like him T_T Jk I love my brother :3**

**I have nothing to do this summer (Where are my friends? T_T) so I'll just sit here writing away! After all, creative writing is fun ;3**

**Please review~!**


	8. A Song of Farewell

**Thank you to jokerose and MusicianWish for your support! Also thank you to those who've read up till now! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man**

**And now on with the show~**

* * *

**Chapter 8: A Song of Farewell**

* * *

"Maria!" Seph shouted as he ran towards the edge of the boat and prepared to jump in.

"No Seph!" Lavi's firm grip held him back. "She's strong. She can handle this on her own." Although he said those words confidently, Lavi's mind filled with worry. Maria…please be safe. Glancing up, Lavi noticed a bullet headed straight for Seph. Acting on instinct, Lavi pushed away the boy as he was struck by the Akuma's bullet instead.

Krory reacted first, diving into the water and sucked out the poison in Lavi's blood. When both exorcists emerged, Lavi blinked. "Eh? Didn't I just get shot…?"

Krory stood up, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "Thanks for the meal," he smirked and Lavi paled as he touched his throat.

Just then, Bookman began yelling to them about some sort of Wood Seal and complained about the idiot Lavi was. The red-haired exorcist promptly formulated a plan with Krory. Soon after, the gravitational chains around the boat disappeared and the tides turned in the exorcists' favor.

"Let's do this!" Lavi shouted. "Seal: Round Wood. Tenchi Pakai!" He pointed his index finger towards the sky. "Hey, you clouds recede!" A bright bolt of electricity shot out towards the clouds, suddenly dispersing them. Krory jumped up high as Lavi swung his hammer. "Go get 'em Krory-kins!"

Seph looked up at the sky curiously as he held out his hand. "Red snow…?"

Suddenly, next to the boat, the water shot up to reveal an extremely large sea monster-like Akuma flying through the air before exploding into a cloud of smoke. Coughing slightly, the five Exorcists stared with wide eyes at the figure that had emerged from the water just as fast as the Akuma had flown through the air.

Above on the yard of the ship, with one hand on the main topmast stood Maria. Looped around her hip was a ebony black sheath in which one sword hung by her right hip. The sword was a deep shade of blue and seemed to melt into the shadow of the wood. In her other hand was another blade with an otherworldly hue of purple and black. Instead of the blue sword's straight blade, this sword had a crooked blade that seemed to make it appear more sinister.

Maria's long bangs covered her eyes but underneath there was a near maniacal smirk that was illuminated by the moonlight as she looked towards the sky. "At last..." she breathed quietly. 'I'm back.'

"...Maria?" A voice from below made her look down to see the crowd of crew and Exorcists below her.

Maria swiftly jumped to each level below her until she had reached the ground, where all but Seph took a step back once they saw her eyes. He remained still, but his eyes widened when he saw her now blood red eyes. They had the same color as his right eye. Those eyes calmly stared at him and he felt that the person behind those eyes was staring down at him. This was not her. This wasn't Maria.

"Who..." he began quietly, but his voice rose louder as he finished his question. "Who are you?"

Maria didn't seem very surprised at the question. In fact, she let loose a short laugh before smirking evilly. "Someone from the dark."

Behind Seph, Bookman's eyes widened slightly when he saw her eyes. "Ragnarok," he mumbled quietly to himself. Lavi glanced at him curiously. 'Ragnarok?'

Maria's eyes swiveled to the small old man behind Seph, and she smiled menacingly. "So you know," she sneered while everyone stared at him in confusion.

Bookman ignored their stares as he continued to glare at her. "What is your purpose here?" he demanded. "I thought beings from the darkness could not exist in this world."

"We can't," Maria admitted. "But I believe that you're forgetting a little something~"

Bookman's eyes grew wide in realization. "A host..."

"Correct you are~!" Maria snickered as she crossed her arms across her chest. She suddenly leaned an inch to the side as a black needle zoomed past her ear. "Oh?" the air around her grew colder as her eyes flashed a bright crimson. Her smirk grew wider as she anticipated another attack from the old man.

"Be gone Ragnarok." Bookman ordered. "Leave now or suffer the consequences."

"And if I refuse...?" A manic smile tugged on the corners of her lips.

"..." Bookman remained silent, but she noticed that he was still holding his needles underneath his long sleeves.

Maria heaved a long sigh and raised both hands in a carefree gesture of defeat. "Hmm I was hoping for something exciting," she pouted slightly. "Meh. Since I'm tired right now, I'll let you go free." She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket and then turned around in a circle to look at the rest of the crew, making eye contact with each one.

"But remember...I'll be back~"

Maria looked up at the sky and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, the crimson eyes were gone, replaced by her regular ice blue eyes. "Eh?" She looked around at the crew innocently. "How did I get here?" She suddenly felt arms around her, restricting her movement as well as breathing. "Who...!"

"Maria..." A familiar voice murmured into her ear. Seph. She relaxed at once and returned his embrace as the familiar scent of cinnamon filled her nostrils. Before she could reply, everything grew extremely bright. His skin appeared to blind her and the fabric of his Exorcist uniform grew darker, making a stark contrast between the two. Stars appeared in her vision and Maria's eyes rolled up as her knees buckled.

As she was embraced by the darkness, she thought she heard someone faintly call out her name. Deep inside her mind, Maria called out to a certain being.

_'Hey…Brother…did I…make you proud…?'_

She could feel him smile faintly as he spoke.

**You always have.**

* * *

"Lemme go!" Maria's eyes slowly opened as she heard shouting from the ship deck. Slowly sitting up, she noticed that Seph's jacket had been placed on top of her as she slept. Gingerly getting up, Maria carefully folded it before she exited the cabin. When she opened the door, she saw Lavi being restrained by the sailors as he attempted to use his hammer to get off the boat. "Lemme go!"

"What are you, an idiot?" Seph asked, becoming increasingly annoyed by his shouting. "They said we're gonna get to her!"

"Why wait when I can get to her faster?" Lavi retorted. "Let…me…go!" His hammer increased its size so that the sailors couldn't hold on anymore.

Lavi's shadow suddenly wrapped around him at the same time Miranda's arms did as well. "Lavi, stop!" she cried. "Please, don't be so harsh to the crew. They protected me while on the ship…!" She began to fret over his wounds.

Lavi gritted his teeth, tense with worry and Miranda's fussing was making him reach his limit. Finally, he snapped. "Damn it, how can you be so calm!? Aren't you worried about Lenalee? She's human just like you!"

Miranda flinched, stunned by his harsh words. "Aren't you human as well?" Lavi clenched his fist. "Am I wrong?"

Maria watched calmly as Miranda's words did not make him change his decision. She sighed and made eye-contact with him. "Oi! Take me with you."

Lavi nearly fell off of his hammer when he heard what she said. "Wh-what?" he stuttered.

"Take me with you," Maria repeated, climbing up onto the handle of hammer without waiting for an answer. "If you end up collapsing because of your wounds, who's gonna be there to catch you if you fall?" She smirked knowing that he couldn't refuse.

The two set off towards the direction of the light Lavi had seen earlier. Soon they reached the limits of Miranda's Innocence, and their old wounds came back to them. Lavi nearly fainted from the pain he received all at the same time. He nearly fell, except his hands remained continued to clutch the handle through sheer willpower and Maria, who held onto his waist with one arm in order to balance both him and herself, her other arm holding her ribs that had been broken during her struggle with Cetus.

"Lenalee," Lavi muttered, his eyes frantically scanning the horizon. "Where are you?"

Maria looked at him with worried eyes. _'Lavi…'_

"This is a bad joke." He looked down at the water. "You're making me remember bad things…" Looking forward again, Lavi shouted, "Lenalee!"

A sudden explosion from the water made the both of them look up in shock. "…Huh?" An Akuma emerged from the water, holding an enormous crystal that shined with greenish light.

"Are ya Junior and Tsukiyomi?" It asked.

Both exorcists stared dumbfounded at the Akuma that seemed to know their names. "Huh?" they repeated stupidly, still in shock.

"Are ya Bookman's Junior and Florence's disciple?" It asked impatiently. "M' hands are killin' me y'know. Could ya help me out?"

Lavi stared dumbly at the Akuma until he saw who was inside the giant crystal. "L-Lenalee!?" He gasped.

Maria's mind was reeling as Lavi began accusing the Akuma for things it didn't do. _'Lenalee's innocence protected her... Is it just like mine?'_

Something golden flashed by her and hit the Akuma dead on. As it began communicating with the golem, the pieces finally clicked together in Maria's mind. "Lavi, that's General Cross's Akuma." She pointed to the being that Tim was now sitting on happily.

"Yep! Oira is that guy's messenger so even if an Akuma is still an Akuma, Oira was converted by Cross Marian, don't y'know? So help me out already." Oira confirmed, happy that at least one person understood it.

"Eh..okay," Lavi rubbed the back of his head as he stared at the odd duo before them. _'That Cross has too many surprises up his sleeve.'_

. . . . .

Once they brought Lenalee's crystal back to the ship, Anita ran up to it, but was nearly killed by the Innocence.

"Those of you who aren't exorcists, keep your distance!" Bookman warned the crew. "Watch out! You'll be hit with the power of the Innocence!" He then began explaining what was bothering him about Lenalee's Innocence protecting her. 'This kind of thing just isn't possible,' he thought.

Maria rubbed her hand absentmindedly as she stood off to the side. When she had tried to help Lavi and Oira carry Lenalee's crystal back to the boat, as soon as she touched it black electricity sparked and jolted her hand. When she examined it, she was surprised to find a black tattoo etched onto the back of her hand.

"What's going on?" Seph asked her in a low voice.

"Oira is an Akuma converted by Cross, and it found Lenalee from underneath the ocean and brought her to us." She answered, still watching the scene before her as she swiftly put on her gloves in order to hide the tattoo.

"It's her 'heart' isn't it?" Oira spoke from behind Lavi, who turned around and hit him. Bookman then explained that Oira was indeed an Akuma that General Cross had converted, that he had been telling the truth.

"We've got no time," It spoke as it looked into the sky. "I have word from Cross Marian."

"A message?" Anita gasped off to the side. She began to cry tears of joy.

"Marian is not dead," It continued. "He landed and is on a mission in the direction of Edo."

"A mission?" Lavi asked.

'The general was actually doing his job? That's a first,' they all thought.

Lavi then began to mock Cross for requiring their help on his mission when Oira interrupted him. "No. Oira came after being told to deliver this message to you. Marian said: 'If you are to become a hindrance, go home'."

Just then, Lenalee's crystal began to give off a pillar of light. When she emerged from it, Lavi ran over to her and picked her up. Miranda's Time Record also set her wounds back.

Maria and Seph only stood back and watched the touching reunion. Lenalee opened her eyes as tears fell out. "Lavi… Am…am I…still in the…world…?" Lavi's tears soon emerged as well as he hugged the girl.

"Idiot," he muttered.

Maria smiled kindly at Lavi's show of affection. _'This feeling in my heart... Is this what they call love? I'm pretty sure I don't love him like that, but...we're like family, right?'_

"Should we continue? Or shouldn't we… You guys choose…"

"Let's go on," Lenalee answered for them. "We can't just go back from here. If we turn back now, we'd just be trampling down on the lives that got us this far." She attempted to get up but her legs wouldn't move. Not even Miranda's Innocence could undo the effects of her limit break completely.

Lavi picked her up on one side. "Lenalee's approval," the red haired exorcist started.

"We got it!" Krory finished as he picked her up from the other, supporting her.

"Even though we're all worn out, we can't stop here," Lavi said cheerfully.

"Let's go to Edo!"

* * *

Maria watched as Lavi talked with the Akuma now named Chomesuke. The boy seemed to adapt to situations quickly and took a liking to the Akuma he gave a nickname for. On the couch, Miranda leaned against Lenalee with a cloth on her forehead.

"I'm sorry," the woman breathed. "I don't think I can keep this up until we reach Edo."

Lavi ruffled Miranda's head. "Don't worry."

Seph finally spoke up. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect your Innocence Miranda." The others looked at him in shock. It was rare for him to apologize much less talk seriously.

"No no...it's my fault..." Miranda continued sobbing words of apology to them.

"Miranda," Lenalee hugged her closer. "Don't bear the burden alone, okay? We are all in this together." Lavi stared wide eyed as her words sunk into him. "We…are all walking this road with you."

At that moment, Mahoja knocked on the door, carrying raincoats with her. "Exorcists," she began. "My mistress has called for you on deck.

. . . . .

Maria looked around the deck, searching for any sign of the sailors. "What the…" She only saw Anita, Mahoja, and three other sailors.

"Um, I don't see any of the crew," Krory tentatively observed.

"Yeah," Lavi turned around in a circle. "Where are they…?"

Lenalee was the last to realize. "Don't tell me…!" she gasped.

"I'm sorry," Anita apologized. "I told the crew they need not send you off."

One of the sailors spoke up. "Right now they are having a feast below."

"Please forgive me," Anita apologized again. "I wanted them to spend their last moments as they wished."

Lenalee's tears started to fall again, mingling with the rain. "So you were the only ones that survived!?" Miranda hung her head low, trying to hide her tears of remorse.

Anita placed a hand on the kind woman's shoulder. "It's okay." She smiled kindly at them. "All of us became supporters because we lost our families to Akuma. We could live only for the sake of revenge. None of our comrades have anything to regret."

"You told us that you would go to Edo," Mahoja added, smiling at them. "That you would not retreat on the path we made. That made us very happy."

**"Please win, Sir Exorcists!"** They turned towards the sound of voices coming from the loudspeakers.** "For our sake, please go on! Keep going!"** Many voices joined together as they spoke into the speakers. **"Use our lives to make a better future!"**

"The crew…!?" Lenalee gasped, holding her hands up to her mouth.

"You guys…" Anita's own tears started to fall as she was touched by their encouragement.

"I can't believe it…!" Seph looked down at the ground, trying to restrain his tears.

"Please take care of our comrades that survived! We want them to live!" The other three sailors stared in shock at the words of their fellow sailors. "We want them to live, even if for a while, in a peaceful future!" Lavi kept his head up, eyes wide open."Please win Sir Exorcists!"

"Gramps," Lavi mumbled in a hoarse voice. "This is too painful…"

"We're still a bit far from Edo, so I'll be taking you guys to Izu," Chomesuke explained as he held a small lifeboat up. "Watch your footsteps!"

Lenalee reached a hand out to the last two people. "Come Miss Anita and Miss Mahoja."

Instead of taking her hand, Anita simply cupped the girl's cheek. "Your hair… Grow it long again," she whispered tenderly. "You have very beautiful black hair. You mustn't let the war get the better of you, okay?" Lenalee's eyes widened in shock. "Goodbye…"

"What… No!" Lenalee exclaimed. "No…it can't be…!" She could only reach out as she watched the two people get smaller and smaller.

"I can't…believe it…" Maria's tears started to form in her eyes as she watched the two continue smiling as they waved goodbye. "This isn't…this isn't fair…!"

Miranda let go of her Innocence's time and the ship began to sink and destroy itself. The survivors stared numbly where the once grand ship had been only seconds before.

"We will…" Lenalee mumbled to the souls of the ship. "We will definitely win…! I swear."

Seph looked at Maria's tears that were now flowing freely down her face. He touched his face, realizing that his own tears had come as well. He looked up at the sky, faintly recalling a song Ryou had sung when his and Maria's parents had passed away. "May it be an evening star," he began, unsure of the melody. "Shines down upon you."

Maria quickly glanced at him. She didn't expect him to recall something so long ago. Leaning against him, she sang, adding to the melody.

_May it be when darkness falls your heart will be true_

Seph and Maria sang side by side as the rain washed away their tears. Both individuals made the song shine in a different way, and their voices resonated in the quiet moment.

_You walk a lonely road_  
_Oh how far you are from home_  
_Mornié Utúlië_  
_Believe and you will find your way_  
_Mornié Alantië_  
_A promise lives within you now_

The other exorcists stared at them in awe as their voices flowed and complemented each other. Maria's voice had a rich quality to it while Seph's voice was clear and deep. "Maria…" Lavi murmured.

_May it be the shadow's call will fly away_  
_May it be you journey on to light their day_  
_When the night is overcome_  
_You may rise to find the sun_  
_Mornié Utúlië_  
_Believe and you will find your way_  
_Mornié Alantië_  
_A promise lives within you now_

_A promise lives within you now_

Their voices melded into a complete harmony as the two childhood friends sang out their sadness, letting out their emotions in that one song. The others simply sat there listening to them fade out just as quietly as they started.

"Seph… What was that song…?" Lenalee asked him.

"It's supposed to guide the souls of the dead to their destination," he answered. Looking away, he continued to stare out into the distance. "Maria's brother taught it to us when her parent's died."

Maria leaned her head against his shoulder. Her tears were falling freely now, but the rain masked them. "And where is her brother now…?" Lenalee tentatively asked.

"He's dead." Maria answered blandly.

Lenalee and the others looked at her abruptly before finally understanding the girl. Lenalee knew what it was like to lose a family member so dear to her, even though she had only lost her brother for a short time. She couldn't imagine a life without him now. Lenalee sat next to Maria and hugged her. Too absorbed in memories, Maria didn't react.

"I believe," Maria spoke quietly. "I believe that Brother's song definitely helped them get to where they were going. I believe that they'll be much happier where they are, watching us as we work to build the world they gave their lives for."

_'Together, we'll build a better future for all of us. Isn't that right, Brother…?'_

* * *

**For those of you who wish to know, the song that Maria and Seph sing is 'May it Be' by Enya from Lord of the Rings.**

**Please review~! :3**

***Edit: Releasing 2 chapters as a Christmas gift! Merry Christmas y'all~***


	9. Goodbye, Hello

**Sorry for the wait! Chapter 9 is out now~**

**Thank you to jokerose and MusicianWish for the support! I'm glad you two like my story :3****  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man**

**And now on with the show~**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Goodbye, Hello**

* * *

_Red eyes widened as the man in front of him was slaughtered without a thought. Evan scrambled back as the mysterious assailant turn towards him. Every fiber in his being told him that the man was dangerous, and he agreed with his instincts wholeheartedly. This murderer was lethal and had killed everyone in his hometown._

_Evan backed away even further from the man, but was met with a wall. "W-who are you?" he asked. The man was quite tall, standing around 6 feet tall. His venomous neon green eyes seemed to pierce right through him as he stared at the child. The man's short brown hair could not cover all of the scars on his angular face. He was wearing a long black jacket and black pants as well as boots. His jacket had buckles and his arms seemed to look as if he was a former prisoner whose hands had to be bound to his chest. His extremely long sword was stained with blood in the light of the flames, as if it seemed to be thirsting for more._

_"Oh?" the man inquired. "It speaks."_

_Evan's eyes widened in horror at the man's acknowledgement of him. His instincts screamed at him to run away from the danger. He contemplated trying to attack the man or run away. Evan gritted his teeth; neither option held any hope of him living: if he fought the man would simply kill him, and if he ran the man would kill him too. Either way, the mysterious man would simply kill him._

_"W-who are you?" he asked again as he groped for some sort of weapon to use against the man. His hand fell upon a knife. Gripping it, he charged without waiting for an answer._

_The green-eyed man knocked Evan's knife out of his hands. The man then proceeded to slash his torso. He then mercilessly stabbed the boy in his right shoulder. Evan screamed in pain. He felt as if he were on fire. The man lowered his sword as he stood above the sobbing boy. "Impressive, for a mere child." He smirked. "In honor of your bravery, I shall give you my name. Remember this, boy. My name is…"_

_Evan's world started to blur around him._

_"Lupin. Lupin Xenohart."_

. . . . .

Red eyes flew wide open as Evan sat up quickly, holding his agonizing head. 'Was that…a memory?' he wondered once the pain had receded. Around him, Marie and General Tiedoll were still asleep, while Kanda stared off into the horizon. Laying down again, Evan rested his head on his arms. As he stared up at the night sky, he fingered the scar that ran from his left shoulder to his right hip, a single thought on his mind.

_'Did I...die?'_

* * *

"Maria," Seph nudged her awake. "We're here."

"Eh?" Maria yawned. "Where are we…?"

Seph lightly pinched her cheek, "Idiot. We're in Japan."

"Oh…" Rubbing her cheek, Maria looked up at the change in scenery.

"We've reached Edo-cho," Chomesuke announced.

"So this is it," Lavi murmured as he gazed at the row of steps before them.

"Welcome to Japan!"

Maria and Seph followed the others as they were led by Chomesuke up the steps. Looking around, Maria appreciated the natural beauty of the place. "It's beautiful," she whispered as a cherry blossom petal landed on the palm of her hand.

Seph chuckled. "Of course it is. Cherry blossoms only come out during the spring," he pointed out. "It's a very special tree for the people here."

Maria giggled, "I didn't know you knew this much about plants."

"It's not my fault! Tiedoll was the one who taught me this stuff," Seph pouted slightly as he and Maria ran to catch up to the others.

"Someone's there!" Chomesuke exclaimed.

"Sachiko…" the mysterious person whispered.

Recognizing the woman, Chomesuke ran up to her, "Kawamura!" The group stared dumbfounded at the appearance of the other Akuma. "This is my comrade, Kawamura. He's an Akuma that was converted by Marian too-cho." Chomesuke grabbed the other Akuma's shoulders. "You came to pick us up, Kawamura? Thanks so much-cho I'm about to reach my limit!" The other Akuma suddenly started shaking, "Kawamura?" A web suddenly burst out of the Akuma before them, capturing it. Chomesuke reeled back, realizing the danger that was approaching them, "Hide everyone!"

The group hid behind the flags next to the steps, holding their breaths so that the recently arrived Akuma didn't sense them. "Level 3?" Lavi gasped.

"And three of them too," Krory whispered.

They could only watch as the three Akuma began to devour Kawamura. "What…!?" Maria gasped.

"Only the strong survive, huh?" Seph calmly observed the gruesome scene. This land followed the laws of nature like no other.

They continued up the steps once again after the level 3s left. Glancing around, all Maria could see was the remains of former Akuma that had been eaten. "What is this, a graveyard for Akuma?"

Suddenly Chomesuke clutched his head, "Argh!" Lavi quickly asked him what was wrong. "I-It's a message from the Earl!"

"The Earl!?" Lavi gasped. "Does he know we're here?"

"N-No I don't think that's it-cho." Chomesuke struggled to go against his instincts as a pentacle appeared on his forehead. "But the range of this message… It seems like the Earl is trying to gather in all of the Akuma in Japan!" Chomesuke soon gave up struggling; there was no use. The Earl's command was simply too strong for the poor Akuma. "I'm sorry Lavi. I have to go to the Earl."

Lenalee gasped, "Wait! When you say 'to the Earl' you mean-?!"

"Right now, at the center of Edo," Chomesuke spoke as if in a trance. "The Earl of the Millenium is here."

The exorcists' eyes widened in horror and surprise at the news; the Earl's appearance could only mean one thing: trouble.

"Chomesuke," Maria's calm voice sounded from the ruckus the others were making. "Do you think you can guide us there?"

"I'll try to-cho," Chomesuke sounded like he was in pain. "Follow me-cho!"

* * *

The Earl was standing atop a tower and his voice could be heard throughout the vicinity. "Prepare for a combined attack my Akumas~!" He pointed his umbrella in a general direction. "All forces in Japan, go and destroy the generals~!"

Lavi chose that moment to let loose a fire seal snake. He directed it towards the Earl as it gulped him up, taking the exorcists' mortal enemy with it.

"Come out now, you vermin~" The Earl dissipated the flaming snake as he spotted its source.

Emerging from the smoke were the exorcists. "We aren't going to let you get to the general, Earl!"

"Oh~?" Beaming widely, the Earl mocked their challenge. "And you think you can stop us~?"

"Seph, Maria," Lavi called to them. "Protect the others for me, will ya?"

"What? But…!"

"Don't worry about me. Just protect the others," Lavi assured her.

"But they're too strong for you! You'll die!" Maria's voice was trembling. She didn't want to lose another person that was close to her, that she cared about.

"We won't know till we try!" Lavi and Krory leaped towards the Earl without a second thought.

"Earl, I'll go!" Heading towards them, Tyki swiftly attacked both exorcists as both parties recognized the other. "Well, well. if it isn't the gentleman and the boy with the eye-patch from before."

Lenalee gasped, "That man! He was in Tim's memory!"

"I won't forget that face," Lavi muttered darkly. "That night, you're the Noah that killed Allen!"

"I'm a bit bored at the moment," Tyki smirked as he taunted them. "But maybe you can keep me occupied for a while like that boy?"

"You asked for it!" Lavi stepped forward with murderous rage in his eyes. "I'm the one who's going to get rid of this guy, so everybody, don't interfere!" Lavi readied his hammer, "I'll have to pound him to dust before I can calm down!"

"What?" Tyki asked, surprised at the force of Lavi's rage. "Are you so angry that I killed that trickster? Oh, I guess he was your friend?"

"Shut up," Lavi muttered.

"Ah I see. You guys were friends," Tyki taunted him.

"Shut up!"

"And could it be that the cute girl behind you was also his friend?"

"Shut up!" Lavi grew furious.

"I'm sorry, it's a sad thing. I understand," Tyki grinned sadistically. "'Cause you see, I have them too. What you call friends?"

Hearing the shouting, Maria peeked around the others until she could see who it was. Realization dawned on her as the memories of that fateful day came flying back. "You…!"

"I understand you boy-" "Shut up!" "When friends die-" "Shut up!" "It's a very sad thing."

**"Shut up!"** Lavi raged as he rashly attacked the Noah who dodged the blow. Tyki used the opening as a chance to attack Lavi but before he could, Maria appeared and attacked him with her swords.

"Oh? It's you!" Tyki looked surprised at the encounter.

Maria could see none of his surprise. All she could see was the man who had held her teacher's heart in the palm of his hand as she died; her teacher's murderer. Her ice blue eyes were filled with anguish and rage.

"Tyki Mikk." The name was filled with murderous wrath. Maria's swords crackled with energy as her Innocence reacted to her fury. Tyki jumped back when he saw black sparks emerge from her hands and into her swords.

"Maria, I thought I told you to guard the others!" Lavi shouted to her.

"When I have the perfect opportunity to kill Ebony's murderer?" she scoffed. "I'd rather die than miss this chance!"

"Strong words for a little lady," Tyki smirked.

"Save it, Mikk," Maria snapped. Suddenly strong arms grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. "Let me go! I'll kill you Mikk!"

"Maria."

She began to struggle from the grip, "Let me go!"

"Maria."

"Let me go!" Tears started to emerge from her eyes.

"Maria!" Seph's voice was soft but firm as he shouted her name at her. Maria's struggling slowed to a stop. "If I let you go, will you promise to calm down?" Maria nodded numbly. "Good girl," he patted her head. "Don't worry about Tyki; Lavi will take care of him."

"But-!"

"Don't worry about it Maria," Lavi assured her. "I'll take revenge for both you and Allen. After all, aren't we friends?"

Maria hesitated, _'Friends…?'_ Sighing, she gave up on her chance for now, "Fine, but I'll kill you if you die!" She gave him a thumbs up.

Lavi sweated, "Is that even possible…?" He brought up his hammer, "Now…I believe we were in the middle of something."

Tyki chuckled, "I'll take care of you first and then you can watch as I kill the girl."

"Not if I kill you first!" Lavi ran towards the Noah.

. . . . .

"What's going on?" Maria asked to no one in particular. The Akuma around them were combining into several enormous Akuma that towered over the Exorcists.

"Get ready," Seph told her. "It's coming…!"

The giant Akuma shot powerful rays around the entire city. "Time Record, activate!" Miranda shouted. A barrier formed as the house the exorcists were on was saved from the destruction.

"Nice going Miranda!" Maria cheered.

"I can't keep this up for long, so please do something about that Akuma," Miranda looked as if she were in pain.

"Got it," Seph took out his daggers. "Stay here Lenalee, Maria. You'll need to protect the others," he said, referring to Maria.

Lenalee tried to object, "But if you want to attack that Akuma, you'll need my Dark Boots to take you up there!"

"There's a possibility that your Innocence may be the 'Heart'," Bookman responded. "If that is the case, you mustn't fight till the end."

"I'll take them up to the Akuma's head-cho," Chomesuke cut in. "Even I can't stay with you guys forever-cho. Eventually, I won't be able to stop myself from attacking you."

"What happens when you get the desire to kill us?" Bookman inquired.

"I've had Marian arrange for me to self destruct." Chomesuke transformed into his Akuma form. "Let's go-cho! Hold on tight!"

As they neared the enormous Akuma, Chomesuke was hit again and again. Soon, the poor Akuma had reached his limit and was forced to throw the exorcists towards the giant Akuma. Seph glanced back at him mournfully as he flew away. Chomesuke simply sent him a small but encouraging smile and waved farewell as he exploded into nothingness.

Sadly their efforts were in vain as their attacks didn't even make a scratch on the Akuma's face. The three exorcists were knocked into a building below.

"Ugh," Seph moaned, holding his head. "Can any of you move?"

"Yes, but that damn Akuma!" Krory's forehead was now bleeding. "My fangs can't even pierce it!"

"Yes, it's too hard," Bookman wearily agreed. Soon, Lavi fell into the same predicament that they were in. "Lavi!?"

"Shit! He's so strong, it's almost unfair," Lavi gritted his teeth. Suddenly they heard a loud shout calling for help. "Damn it! That bastard is after Lenalee and the rest!"

Maria hadn't been watching when she suddenly was flying through the air and hit the wall. When she got up, she realized that Tyki was choking Lenalee. "Let her go, Mikk!" She charged and tried to attack him with her swords but he simply kicked her in the gut and sent her flying.

"I'll take care of you once I'm finished with this," Tyki called to her smirking. His choke hold on Lenalee's throat tightened and soon the girl was seeing stars. The sailors behind him took it upon themselves to attack the Noah, but their futile attempts only succeeded in ruining his mood. As he called his Tease to attack the sailor, a sword suddenly cut through the ground, revealing the owner to be Kanda. "We have a lot of guests today," Tyki observed as Kanda began to attack him.

Someone stepped in front of Maria's line of sight and she spotted worried red eyes staring at her in the darkness. She grinned weakly at the new arrival, "Why hello there~! Fancy meeting you here."

Evan sighed as he helped her up, "I could say the same to you, Maria."

"Is that sarcasm I hear?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Evan replied sarcastically. "Also, you've been spending too much time around Seph. You're starting to talk like him now!"

"But its fun!" Maria pouted. "Oh there's an enormous Akuma heading this way," she pointed out nonchalantly as if it were an everyday thing. "Just so you know~"

"Don't worry about it. Marie and Kanda will take care of it," was the only reply. They jumped onto the roof of the building where they were met with an angry exorcist and a scared bunny.

Suddenly a voice called out to the group, "Oh its Yu!" A sword was unsheathed as Kanda searched for the source of the voice. Seph jumped down from a building higher up, "Why hello there~! Fancy meeting you here."

Evan groaned and looked pointedly at Maria, who only grinned cheekily.

"Call me that name again and I'll slice you!" Kanda violently swung his sword around at Seph but the latter dodged his attacks easily. "Baka Piero!"

"Now, now, don't be so harsh~" Seph teased him even more, inviting a string of curses from Kanda's mouth. "It's not polite to be cursing at someone who you haven't seen in years, isn't that right Bakanda~?" he emphasized each syllable of the nickname. Cackling at Kanda's fury, Seph simply ran around in a circle knowing that the samurai would not be able to catch him.

Another group of giant Akuma suddenly appeared near the group. "Kill it," Maria spoke to Evan, giving him a cheeky grin.

"Kill it with fire," Seph called to him from behind Lavi, who paled when Kanda's sword aimed straight for his head. Seph and Maria exchanged smirks at their joke and gave one another a high-five.

Evan sighed, pulling out Oblivion and activating his Innocence. Maria and Seph did the same, not wanting to miss the thrill of working together once again.

"Innocence, level two!" Seph called. "Noise of Echo!" His Innocence gave off a brilliant green glow and wrapped around his arms, forming lethal claws. "Just the way I like 'em~"

Evan gave orders to them. "Maria, you take the left Akuma. Seph, the right one is all yours. I'll handle the middle one."

"Got it!" both answered him. Maria ran along the buildings and used her shadows to help her leap off of the roof and onto the Akuma's left arm. Running up the arm, she stabbed both swords into the Akuma and dragged them up to its face. Jumping up once again, she finished her attack by slashing the face with an X as she landed like a cat, the explosion of the Akuma behind her making a dazzling effect. "Humph," she put away her swords.

Seph nimbly dodged the Akuma's clumsy attempts to squish him, twisting and turning as he deftly shredded its arms. When the Akuma raised its hands in pain, Seph hopped on one of them as both claws gave off a bright green light. Finishing his charge, Seph swiped his claws at its face, the razor sharp air slicing the Akuma into pieces. "All done here~" he purred as he landed on a roof.

Evan's eyes seemed to blaze as he boldly charged up to the Akuma and dodged its futile attacks. He jumped onto its arm and ran along it, as it tried to swat him away like a fly. Dodging and attacking at the same time, Evan leapt onto the hand that was coming towards him and used it as a leverage to get to the face. "This is the final strike!" he called as he ran his sword down the middle of the Akuma's face, cleanly cutting it in half.

The trio had landed near the group, and when they had finished dealing with the Akuma, the other exorcists, excluding Kanda and Marie, only stared in shock. "Y-you two were really that strong?" Lavi gulped, remembering the mass destruction the Akuma had wreaked.

"What?" Maria's indifferent tone only seemed to awe him even more. "Is that bad?"

"N-no, it's just that…I didn't think that anyone other than Kanda could defeat that monster." Lavi shuddered.

"It's not a question of can or can't," Maria advised him. "There are some things in life you just do."

Suddenly they sensed a powerful aura coming from the tower. Glancing up, they realized that the Earl was charging up a large black ball that kept on growing bigger and bigger. "How…impudent!" the Earl finished as he released his attack towards the exorcists.

Maria's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the large black ball coming towards her; she was the closest person to the Earl, after all. Stunned by the sight of impending doom, Maria could only watch as the dark energy came ever closer. Seph and Evan stared in horror as their childhood friend was about to get killed through the Earl's attack. Their legs refused to move and remained frozen in place.

**"Maria!"**

* * *

***gasp* What's going to happen to her? Find out next chapter~**

**Going to be a bit busy, so chapters will come out less often than before :x **

**Please review~! :3**

***Edit* Forgot to mention this when I first posted the chapter, but "baka piero" means idiot clown XD. There weren't any major edits in this chapter, save for a few grammar mistakes so I finished this really fast XD. On break now so hopefully I'll finish rewriting the next couple of chapters and then we can finally get on with the story :D**


	10. Did You Miss Me?

**Gonna try to release the next few chapters as soon as I write them! I'm going on vacation later, but I'll still be writing when I can XD Working on chapter 12 right now, so chapter 11 should be out as soon as I get some free time! :3**

**Once again, thank you to jokerose and my other readers for the support! **

**Anonymous: **You really should make an account so it'll be easier for me to talk to you XD And yes, Evan's eyes are red. Evan = Red eyes, blond hair. Seph = green eyes, black hair. Maria = blue eyes, ash blond hair. Just so you know XD I'll make sure to write more scenes of them together in the future! :3

**Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man**

***Edit* This chapter has been revamped!**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Did You Miss Me?**

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"Are you alright, little lady?" A playful voice asked her. Maria slowly opened her eyes to see a man in his early thirties holding her like a princess. The man had long brown hair that was tied into a ponytail and vibrant green eyes that had a hint of danger in them. The scars on his face told her many stories of his life, and not all of them were good ones.

"Ugh," she groaned. The man who had saved her used his large greatsword to take the brunt of the blow but looked fairly unharmed while she had been mostly unscathed from the blow, except for a few scratches. "Who are you?" she asked her mysterious savior.

"The name's Lupin. Lupin Xenohart," Lupin winked. Maria inwardly groaned; she could tell that Lupin was a sucker for the pretty ladies.

"Oh!" Tyki exclaimed, squinting his eyes. "I spotted an Exorcist! And look who decided to show his face," he added with disdain.

"I'd thought he'd never show up~" the Earl grinned widely. "Now the fun can begin~"

Seph groaned as he rubbed his head. He looked around for Maria and saw her with some strange man with an extremely long sword stabbed into the ground behind him. 'Who in the world…?'

Beside him, Evan was barely able to stand up. He glanced at the man that Maria was with and images suddenly flashed in his mind as he recognized the man. The brown hair, the venomous green eyes, even the sword was the same! Evan fingered the scar hidden beneath his Exorcist uniform as his eyes burned with murderous rage.

Seph glanced at Evan's glare aimed at the man. Confusion flashed through his face before it was replaced with a smirk. If Evan absolutely hated the man, then he had no reason to like him. He quickly threw a knife at the pair, and Lupin took his sword out and blocked it, his attention now focused on the two boys. Maria stared at them in confusion until the man beside her spoke.

"Well, well, if it isn't you," Lupin sneered. "I thought I dealt with you back in Switzerland. You must really be a 'Child of Misfortune', being the sole survivor of that poor village. Tell me boy, how does it feel to be the one who will cause the death of your little friends here, just like how you caused the death of sweet little Nana?" he taunted, bringing up secrets that even Seph didn't know of.

"Lupin Xenohart." The name was filled with years of rage that Evan didn't know he had.

"I must say, boy. You've gotten yourself quite the nice young lady here," Lupin chuckled. "How many years has it been, boy? I remember when you were just about this tall." Lupin brought his hand to his waist level.

"Shut up!" Evan pulled out Oblivion.

"Interesting sword you have there, boy," Lupin observed. "Are you finally good enough to stand a chance against me? Or am I going to kill you like I killed all of those people?"

"Humph! I'd like to see you try," Evan smirked as he raised his sword and pointed at Lupin, who raised his own sword as well. "Die!" both swordsmen ran towards each other as steel met steel. Maria and Seph could only watch as both swordsmen seemed evenly matched, except Lupin had a bored look on his face while Evan had a look of rage. The man wasn't even trying, she realized.

A luminous green light illuminated the area as Lenalee's Innocence once again protected her from the attack. Glancing over, Maria realized that the Earl was making his way towards the crystal. "Seph!" she called as she pointed towards Lenalee. Both Lavi and Kanda were currently busy with the Noah and couldn't protect Lenalee, leaving her unguarded. Seph started to head towards the girl, aiming to protect her from the Earl.

"Foolish Exorcists," a voice spoke from behind Seph. "Disappear."

Seph's eyes widened as he ducked just in time to not have his head decapitated. Quickly turning around, Seph activated Echo and tried to attack Lupin with his daggers. When his ploy failed, he activated Noise but even with his enhanced speed and claws, not one of his attacks could land on the man. 'Just what is this man...?' Seph gritted his teeth.

"Your worst nightmare," Lupin appeared in front of Seph and kicked him in the gut as he sent the boy flying. Seph hit the ground and lay there stunned. The strength of Lupin's kick was a lot stronger than he thought. Seph winced, holding his side. Some of his ribs might've broken from the force of the kick.

Glancing around, he spotted Evan lying down as well with wounds covering his body. The older boy moaned in pain, knowing that the convict had at broken at least one thing in his body. Evan tried to sit up but couldn't as pain shot up from his wounds.

Maria was the only one left in Lupin's way, both Evan and Seph having been defeated. She activated her Innocence, pulling two swords out of her shadow. "Interesting Innocence you have there," Lupin remarked as he turned to face her. "It's quite…dark."

"Save it," Maria retorted, readying her swords. "I won't let you get to Lenalee."

"Oh but you will," Lupin grinned darkly. "You're simply a human, and humans are weak."

Maria leaped towards him, using both swords to attack all out. "So what if I'm human?" she grunted while attacking. "Humans may be weak, yet through hopes and dreams, they achieve the impossible!" She knocked him away and darkness surrounded the two. Lupin was disorientated as he felt a faint breeze move around him. Suddenly, he was attacked from all around by numerous slashes as Maria mercilessly used one of her abilities on him: Darkness Tornado.

Once the darkness receded from around the two, Maria stood there panting heavily as she rested her hands on her knees. On the other hand, Lupin looked perfectly fine apart from a few scratches on his skin. "What!?" she gasped, staring at his near perfect condition. "How did you…!?"

"Didn't I tell you already?" Lupin's voice was calm, as if he were simply chiding a small child. "Humans are weak." He ran up to her and began attacking her relentlessly. Maria couldn't keep up with his attacks and could only block a few of them. "You're weak."

"Tch!" she grunted as another one of his attacks reached its mark.

Suddenly a blinding light came from Lenalee's crystal as the sky split open. Lupin was momentarily blinded and he paused, staring at the source of the light. Standing face to face with the Earl was a familiar white clown, and Maria squinted at the figure.

"Good evening~" the Earl grinned happily. "So we meet again, Allen Walker~"

"Allen?" Disbelief shone on Maria's face as she lowered her swords.

"I was sure the Mistress had some sort of use for you Tsukiyomi..."

"Maria!" Evan warned her as Lupin once again launched an attack on the girl. Maria had barely raised her swords in time to block Lupin's powerful attack. Evan picked up his sword once again and tried to rush in once again as a cloud of smoke blew up from the Earl's attack.

Using the smoke as a cover, Lupin attacked Maria once again. As he felt his sword meet flesh, he quickly jumped away and paused before cackling, "But I'm afraid that you're too weak to suit her purposes."

Maria tried to look for Lupin, but the man was nowhere to be seen in the smoke. She felt a presence to her right and swiftly approached it. When she saw the figure kneeling on the ground, she suddenly gasped, "Evan?"

"Tch! Where'd he go?" Evan asked her, holding his bleeding arm.

"I don't know," she looked around as she inspected his wounds. "He just attacked me and then suddenly disappeared." Maria then noticed a certain white haired figure arguing with Kanda. "Is that…Allen!?"

Allen glanced around, hearing his name. His eyes then fell upon a certain ash blond exorcist. "M-Maria?" he stuttered.

"Oi, Moyashi," Kanda unsheathed his sword. "Don't ignore me!" Allen panicked as Kanda swung the katana at him.

Maria blocked Kanda's blow with one of her swords as she supported Evan with one arm. "Now, now Kanda," she chided. "Don't say that to Moyashi." She had already taken a liking to the nickname Kanda had created for Allen.

"Che! I can say whatever I want to the Beansprout," Kanda scoffed.

"It's Allen," Allen corrected as he pointedly looked at the two.

Maria simply stuck out her tongue at him, "Your point is?" Lavi walked up to them and joked about how it was supposed to be a happy reunion. Maria stood there watching the reunion until she finally saw Bookman tending the wounded. Once she brought Evan over to him to be treated, Maria looked around to find Seph lying down on the ground. "Seph?" she asked him as she ran over to help him up. "Are you okay?"

"Ah!" Seph winced in pain as he placed a hand over his ribs.

Quickly glancing down, Maria noticed large bruises covering his abdomen. Her eyes widened in horror as she imagined the damage that was done to him. She clenched her fist. "Damn it Lupin," she cursed under her breath. Maria looked around for someone to help her carry Seph. She soon spotted Lavi with nothing to do. "Lavi!" she called. Lavi glanced over in her direction. "I need your help!" Her worried eyes made him run over quickly and soon the two brought the now unconscious boy over to Bookman as gently as possible.

Finally receiving the affirmation that both of her childhood friends would be alright, Maria leaned against the wall and listened to the others talk. They were safe, for now.

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"Achoo!" Lupin's sudden sneeze startled the Noahs around him.

"Someone must be talking about you," Road giggled as she sat on the Earl's shoulder.

"Speaking about someone," Tyki recalled. "I can't believe our dear sister hasn't awoken yet."

"Oh! You mean Euphie?" Road looked at him excitedly. "I can't wait till she joins us~!" She then pouted a little as she realized what Tyki had just said, "You mean she still doesn't remember anything yet?"

"Now, now children," the Earl smiled as he pulled Tyki and Skinn. "Euphemia will awaken very, very soon."

"Good, because life's a bore without her," Road continued sulking when she noticed a scratch on Lupin's cheek. "What's this? The almighty Lupin Xenohart has a scratch on him? Who's the lucky guy who got close enough to scratch you, huh? Who is it?" She pestered him with endless questions.

"Shut up and leave me alone, you Noah," Lupin growled. "Your 'dear sister' only got lucky. It won't happen again." With that said he shut his mouth and refused to say anything else.

"By the way Millenies," Road looked around. "Where's Lero?"

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"I knew you'd be here," Evan spoke from behind her. Maria didn't react as he sat next to her. "Something on your mind?"

Maria looked at him, contemplating whether or not to tell him. She sighed, "I was just thinking about what I'd do if something happened to the both of you." She glanced at Seph, who still lay unconscious under the careful eye of Bookman. "Meeting Lupin and being defeated by him so easily made me realize…we're only human. Exorcists aren't immortal! What if you two died out there? I'd be…all alone." Her tears began to form as she leaned on the older boy's shoulder.

Evan placed a comforting arm around her, squeezing her shoulder like an older brother. "Don't worry, Maria," he murmured. "No matter what happens, I will be beside you. You can depend on me."

"…Thank you," she whispered. Wiping her tears, she stood up, "I'm going to go check on Seph. Wanna come with me?" Evan took her offer and stood up as well. Walking over towards the others, she saw Lenalee wide awake. She was about to go towards the girl when she noticed Allen sitting beside her holding her hand on his cheek as he cried a single tear. Maria's heart filled with pain as she stared at the two. 'Just what is this feeling…?'

Evan noticed the girl's stare and he ruffled her hair. "Don't worry about it," he smiled. "When the time comes, everything will make sense. You'll see." Maria gave him a small smile before sitting down next to Seph, who lay down beside Lenalee, still unconscious.

Soon, Seph let out a small groan and groggily opened his eyes, slowly taking in his surroundings. Maria's eyes widened when she saw him sit up and she immediately hugged him tightly. "Seph!" she cried.

"Hey!" he laughed softly.

"You're alright," she smiled sadly as a tear escaped her eye.

Seph took her face in his hands and wiped the tear gently. "Of course I am! What would you do without me brightening up your day?" he joked.

"Touché," she laughed as he ruffled her hair.

Evan smiled kindly at him and raised a fist. "Welcome back."

Seph grinned and raised his own fist as they bumped each other. "Yeah...I'm back."

Suddenly a dark purple circle sucked Lenalee into the ground.

"Lenalee!" Allen grabbed her hand as he fell down as well.

"Allen!" Lavi shouted before he grabbed the nearest person: Seph.

"Huh?" Was all he said before he was dragged into the portal.

"Seph!" She grabbed arm as she, too, fell down. Evan fell next and then came Chaoji, Kanda and Krory as all of them fell down the hole.

Maria felt wind rush by her face as she fell, landing on something soft as she felt something crush her from her above. "Oof!"

"You guys are squishing me!" Allen yelled as he tried to keep the weight of six other people off of Lenalee's body.

Maria blinked and realized what had happened after they fell. Lenalee was on the ground while Allen and Lavi were back to back. Seph had landed on Lavi but was facing Maria, who had landed on his chest. Evan was directly above her, squishing her even closer to Seph's body. Lavi had been knocked unconscious, but the same could not be said for Seph. If he had been sleepy earlier, he was definitely wide awake right now as he could feel Maria's soft chest on his own. Both Exorcists blushed furiously and Seph tried to look anywhere but at her, saving her from even more embarrassment. Evan had been trying to keep the weight of the others off of her, but when his strength failed he ended up crushing her against Seph, making the two's blushes turn even redder. Seph tried hard not to think about how soft and squishy Maria's chest felt on his own but failed to do so and he felt some of his blood rush to a certain part of his body.

Once the Exorcists finally untangled themselves, Lavi noticed something odd. "H-Hey! There's a strange pumpkin underneath Lenalee!" Allen and Kanda looked ready to slice the poor pumpkin umbrella into pieces.

"Isn't that thing..." Maria started, noticing something familiar about the pumpkin.

"What the Earl had with him?" Evan finished for her, having noticed the same thing as well.

"Ne Mr. Pumpkin~" Maria smiled dangerously at the thing. "Would you happen to know where the exit is?"

Lero sensed that the lady in front of him was far more dangerous than the two Exorcists that held him. He gulped. "Exit doesn't-t-t," he stuttered. "Exist-relo!" The Earl's booming voice soon came from his mouth as a projection of the Earl appeared.

"After long years the boat has completed its role and come to a stop." The Earl grinned. "Well done Lero. Time to depart, dear Exorcists~! It's time to depart with this boat to hell~"

"What?" Lavi mumbled shocked.

"The fuck do you mean…!" Kanda growled.

"This boat will momentarily be absorbed between dimensions and disappear~" the Earl explained. "If I must say at your level of science, three more hours. That is the amount of time you have left to exist in this world. Pretty girl…you have been blessed with wonderful friends. Look how many have come for you~! You will go together with everybody, so you will not be lonely~"

"Earl…!" Lenalee gritted her teeth.

"Not to worry though," he continued. "I won't let anyone feel sad. I will stop the tears of those left in a world without you~" The Earl paused and glanced in Maria's direction. "And my most sincere apologies to you, Euphemia."

"Euphemia?" she whispered. That name felt so…nostalgic. But why?

"But you've been a bad girl lately, and you must be punished~"

The Earl's projection disappeared as the place began to crumble. Allen and the others tried to look for an exit, but Lero continued to say that there was no exit, making Allen, Lavi, Kanda, and Chaozi extremely close to killing the pumpkin. "You guys are going to die here-relo," Lero cackled.

Suddenly Maria felt the ground beneath them give way. "Shit!"

"Watch out!" Lenalee cried out as they all backed away from the crumbling sides.

"It doesn't exist-relo…really," Lero kept on saying. "You can't escape from this boat. You guys are going to die here."

"There is…" a voice spoke from behind Allen, holding out a key. The voice brought out a deep hatred from within Maria as she realized who it belonged to. "But it is…just an exit."

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**And it's almost time for me to leave, so that's it for now! I gotta wake up my parents now...XD**

**Please review~! :3**

***Edit* Only a few more rewrites to go~ I added in Seph to this section of the story because he has a more important role in the upcoming chapters that I'm rewriting ! :3 **


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